Equals
by chaoticpilgrim
Summary: 'How can you romance a guy if he's afraid you have the power to crack his skull in a split of a second ' A story about the technicalities of being a teen powerpuff. (The story is somewhat dark and morally grey, so don't go for it if it's not your shtick.) Blossick - Blossom X Brick Implied PPG X RRB As of April 2020, I've made some adjustments to the story.
1. Electricity

She sometimes wondered why she kept going to this stupid college. Looks of fearful admiration still followed her around while she walked around campus :'Walked' 'Yeah, walked, why do I even bother to walk around anymore, I might as well fly and shoot lasers out of my eyes, it's apparently the same thing at this point' she thought.

She had an 'incident' a couple of months ago, and word spread out quicker than wildfire. It was difficult to explain to the ER doctors why her boyfriend had a concussion and a huge lightning shaped burn that started around his mouth and went down his chest. She tried explaining the cause but the doctors almost burst out laughing. Then again, in this city they didn't know anymore who she was, what she can do. Hell, not even she knew she could do THAT.

Blossom clutched the books closer to her body. She still spots him around campus sometimes even though he tries to avoid her. His face is still as handsome as before, even though a pink scar marres it now. Everytime he notices her, Alex averts his gaze in fear, but she can't blame him, really. Would have been cool if he hadn't gossiped about it with his friends, though...Now everybody knows.

'Hey, weirdo, been looking for you.' She felt a hand grabbing her shoulder. ' Can you help me with some of the biochem lab results we got last week, forgot to write them down ..? '

'Yeah, for sure, I can lend you my notebook now.'

'Thanksies, partner! It'll take just a sec. ' Mindy grinned.

They sat down on a nearby bench and Mindy started copying her neat handwriting.

'So,I wanted to ask you... how have you been holding up…? ' Mindy tentatively asked without looking up from the paper.

'I'm fine, I guess. Still wondering what crazy stuff they come up with this week.'

'I've told you before, I know how messed up by it you are, but don't let them get to you. I mean, at the end of the day, you're still Blossom motherfucking Utonium, a Powerpuff Girl, and they're just shits with too much time on their hands and an active imagination.'

Blossom sighed and gave her a pained smile. 'Doesn't make me less of a freak in their eyes' she thought.

'You know the latest rumor I've picked up? Apparently I enjoy freezing guys' dicks during sex. Dunno what's worse, that or the one saying that I laser off their heads afterwards like a praying mantis.'

'Haha, nice, these assholes are getting creative, I swear. Fucking losers. They'll forget about it eventually. Give it a few more weeks.'

'Mindy... it's already been three months and it's not dying down at all. That's it, I'm branded as the sex freak now.'

'Nope, stop saying that, you're attracting bad mojo.'

'Hopefully not THAT bad Mojo.'

'Yelp, yeah, forgot he was a thing. You used to fight him many years ago with your sisters, yes?

Mindy was new in Townsville, she had come here for college. It was one of the reasons why Blossom had grown so close to her, she wasn't some fabled superhero in her eyes, just her lab partner in Biochemistry. It was so easy to talk to her without the 'wall of wonder' that lay between Blossom and the Townsville natives.

'Yep, a long time ago, and we have no idea where he went off.' Blossom said gazing into the distance, but quickly shook her head as to dispel intrusive thoughts. 'But how are you doing? I've been rambling about my dramas for forever now and you haven't told me anything about your Jake problem.'

Mindy blushed. 'I don't know, he's been giving off mixed signals. Don't know what his deal is. He asked me out to Rachel's house party tonight…OH'

She covered her mouth.

' It's ok, you know I don't like going to parties anyway.' Blossom said under her breath.

' I'm sorry…' Mindy bowed her head. ' Look, Blossom, I gotta go now, but we'll talk about this later, ok? I gotta meet Jake in the cafeteria.'

'Yeah, sure, but you don't have to pity me, you know. I'm fine.'

'Yeah, I know you are.' Mindy looked concerned. ''

'Cya later.'

As Mindy walked away, Blossom noticed a group of boys in the distance looking at her and whispering. She just couldn't help herself and activated her supersonic hearing.

'Mark heard that she once crushed a guy's pelvis when she was on top, he had to wear a cast for a year.'

'Oh boy, here we go again' she sighed.


	2. Ring

The house was dark when Blossom got home that night. 'The professor must still be in his lab' she thought.

'Fuck!' she stumbled upon Buttercup's skate in the hallway. ''Well, this would have been a good moment to activate x ray vision. Good job, Blossom.'

Buttercup was probably out with her thrill seeking friends. Ever since Mojo had left town back when they were in elementary school, the crime rate had steadily decreased and they didn't need to use their powers as much. Whereas the mayor used to call them daily before, now the phone had set dust. Whatever crime was going on now, it wasn't of the apocalyptic magnitude of the Mojo Jojo era, so the police handled it instead.

Buttercup, being deprived of the thrill to fight epic villains, had turned to extreme sports instead. Given her status as a powerpuff there wasn't any risk involved, really, but nevertheless she still enjoyed it.

Blossom went to the living room and noticed the TV was on, giving off a faint blue light. She could see her youngest sister sleeping on the sofa with her cat Mr Snuffles, both cuddling under a thin blanket.

'Oh.. it's you.' Bubbles murmured, followed by a yawn.

'Yeah, sorry I woke you, Bubbles.'

'No no, it's nothing... wasn't a proper nap anyway.' she stretched, her blonde pigtails astray. 'How was your day?'

'Nothing much, just the usual. Going to college isn't that eventful, you know.' Blossom smiled slightly.

'Then I'm not missing much.' she said petting Mr Snuffles. 'I had a great day at the daycare, a new owner dropped his dog. Very cute.'

'The owner or the dog?' the redhead retorted.

'The dog, obviously.' Bubbles blushed. 'They say you shouldn't mix business with pleasure, Blossom, so I plan to stick to that.' she said wide eyed in a serious tone.

Blossom gave her an understanding smile.

'Alright, I'm going upstairs to change and then we can make together something to eat, how about that?'

'Sure, let's!'

Her rooom was squeaky clean and minimalistic, the professor had given each of them the liberty to decorate theirs when they had outgrown their shared bedroom.

She undressed, grabbed a brush and started using it on her long red mane. It had deepened in color over the years, she had ditched the bow, but not the lenght. It was a pain to take care of it, but she loved it. 'So did Alex. ' she thought.

'Oh, Alex...' Blossom still cringed at the memory of the night when she took him in to the ER, with his head hit and face burned with a lightning shaped scar.

_'What happened to him, Miss?'_

_'He got...electrocuted I think.' she answered, confused._

_'You think?? What exactly happened? Tell us everything.' a young ER doctor said in a slightly annoyed tone._

_'It's hard to explain...'You wouldn't understand.'_

_'Try us, we've heard everything around here.'_

_'I think... I electrocuted him' Blossom said tentatively_

_The doctor looked alarmed._

_'How? With a taser? Did he attack you? These seem a bit too severe to be caused by a taser, though.'_

_'No, no...He didn't. She looked around, anxious._

_'Do you recognise me? I'm Blossom Utonium.'_

_'Oh, I see..You're one of the Powerpuff girls. I didn't recognise you, I'm sorry. So can you tell me what happened?'_

_Blossom fidgeted._

_'I can emit electricity. It's part of my Powerpuff powers.. I think I electrocuted him accidentally...'_

_The doctor looked suspiciously._

_'Hn, accidentally? How does that exactly work...? Did you guys have a fight? Lover's quarrel? Try to be honest and tell me what happened.'_

_'I'm not lying.'_

_'It happens, we sometimes lose our temper and do things we regret, the doctor said cautiously.'_

_'I'm not lying'_

_'You don't have to be scared, just..'_

_'IT WAS DURING SEX, OK?' Blossom yelled, her voice exasperated._

_'Pardon?'_

_'He was down there with his head and it felt good and I just lost control and then I felt an electric shock coming from my body and next thing I see is him being tossed around in the other corner of the room and hitting his head.' the redhead said in one breath._

_The doctor's mouth twitched at the corner, and he seemed on the verge of laughter. ' ...Alright, this seems so strange that I actually believe you. Thank you for telling us, we'll see what we can do.'_

Blossom recalled the wave of embarassment that dawned upon her that day the days to come. Alex recovered quickly and completely ignored her calls since. It had been her first time with a guy, they planned it a week in advance. It was supposed to be wonderful, he was so sweet, even got rose petals, laid them on the bed and two glasses of wine to make them both relax. So when he spread her legs and went down on her she momentarily forgot who she was and just let the pleasure wash over her. 'Too much pleasure, apparently.' she thought.

'It felt great, but...it was the first and only time I'm ever gonna do it, though. I can't take this risk again knowing what can happen. I'm not keen on killing anyone via sex.' Blossom pondered.

As she went down the stair Blossom could hear a phone ringing. THE phone.


	3. Menace

'Blossom...? she heard a hesitant Bubbles as she froze on the stairway. 'Is that what I think it is? Are you hearing it, too?

The redhead regained her composture and flew to the phone downstairs, just in time to answer it.

'Hello?'

She heard a racket on the other line, then Blossom made out the mayor's familiar voice, although it was considerably aged out.

'Girls, this is the Mayor. The police called me, someone is holding hostages in a club downtown, and they're asking for you.'

The redhead took a while to process. Is Mojo back after all this time?

'Girls?' the voice inquired, slightly trembling.

'We're on it. Where is the club?' Blossom answered with a newfound determination in her eyes.

'10, Sunrise Boulevard, club Maharaja. Take care, girls! We'll send more backup!'

Bubbles was crouched on the sofa, clutching her knees, wide eyed and expectant.

'We need to go.' Blossom said as-a-matter-of-factly, heading towards the door. 'Where's Buttercup?'

'Wait, what happened?' the Blonde followed her, scratching her head in confusion.

'Someone's holding hostages in club Maharaja and they're asking for us. It's a trap for sure, but we can't not go.'

'But it's been so long...'

'Yeah, I know.' Blossom said rubbing her eyes.

'Call Buttercup and tell her to meet us there. We should get going now.'

Suddenly her petty dramas didn't matter anymore and she strangely felt a flicker of excitement. Blossom dismissed it as nerves, why would she get excited? People are in danger, kept as bait to get to them. She put on her shoes, gave Bubbles an assuring nod and they flew off together like in the old days.

'Buttercup's not answering.' Bubbles yelled as the aer whooshed around them.

'It's just the two of us then. We have to hurry.'

Soon they were in front of club Maharaja, it was a huge building, kind of grotesque in its architecture, and the music was booming from the inside. Some sort of repetitive harsh electronic music, as the girls could tell. The police was surrounding it, and she went to the nearest officer.

'We're the Powerpuff girls, what's the situation, officer?'

The officer seemed bewildered, but when he heard the name he called for the others to join.

'Yes, there's a man inside looking for 'Blossom Utonium' of the Powerpuff Girls. He said that if anyone else comes in he will kill everyone inside. There are many people inside.'

Blossom looked puzzled, this wasn't what she expected.

'Just one man? He said he would kill everyone?...And you believed him?' she raised an eyebrow at the group of policemen.

'We-we heard what he can do, miss. He let some people go and they told us he trashed the place, he's got superpowers just like you, apparently.'

The girls backed off in disbelief, who could it be?

'Did he say who he is? What did he look like? What did the people see? Blossom asked in one breath.

One of the policemen came forth.

'From what we could gather from the witnesses, miss, he is young, about 6'3", slim built, redheaded, long haired. Some of the people that were close to him said that he had blood red eyes. He didn't give a name.'

Distant memories flashed before Blossom's eyes. Memories of being bested, beaten to a pulp by a boy who looked like her reflection.

'Is it...the red Rowdyruff? Bubbles looked hesitantly towards her sister.

'It might be. It could be. _Brick'_The name rolled off her tongue, but she was surprised she even remembered it. It had been so long, why now?

She would do this. Blossom stepped towards the club's doors, her brows furrowed in determination.

'Blossom, what are you doing? Don't go!' Bubbles grabbed her hand.

'I have to. I owe it to the people inside. I'll send everyone out as soon as I face him. Get ready.'

The policemen gathered behind her.

' We'll be waiting, miss Utonium.'

Blossom opened the club's doors and the smell of fear, sweat and burned plastic overcame her. She could feel her heart racing as she approached the dancefloor.

Many people were hunched over, some crying, some covering their ears. Music boomed, the floor trembling from the strenght of the bass. Big craters were releasing fumes from the floor, she recognised them as the ones that her laser vision could produce. At the DJ table, in the middle of the dancefloor, a young man stood. As soon as he spotted her, he grabbed a nearby person by the throat and smirked at her.

He was tall and slim, dressed casually in jeans and a tshirt and his hair was almost as long as hers, caught in a simple ponytail on his back. As she approached him, his grin grew larger.

'Long time no see, Blossom.'


	4. Blood

'Missed me?' Brick asked as his counterpart got closer and closer.

'Nobody needs to get hurt. I'm here. Just tell me what you want. Blossom approached him, her hands raised in front of here, almost like a peace offering.

Brick tightened his grip on the man's neck.

'Nobody needs to, I agree.' he smiled devilishly. 'I will let everyone get out, damage free, safe and unhurt, if we get out of this place and you fight me. '

Blossom looked wary, was he here to capture her? Why just him and not his brothers? There had to be a catch. She couldn't waste any time though, the hostages were more important.

'Alright, I agree. How will this go down? How do I know you'll keep your word and not hurt anyone.'

Brick loosened his grip, the man fell like a ragdoll on the ground and he quickly closed in on her.

'I guess then we'll have to leave just about ...now.'

He grabbed her hand and soared through the roof at an incredible speed, smashing through thick layers of brick and dangling Blossom behind him.

Frozen with shock for a few seconds, Blossom then managed to get a hold of herself, and realised the cold evening air was whooshing around her. She could feel his tight grip on her hand, and her skin burned at the contact.

'Where are you taking me?' the redhead yelled.

'You'll see. I promise you'll like it.' Brick said without averting his gaze.

Was this the calm before the storm? Blossom realised she didn't feel an impending sense of doom, although she was probably going to die. He seemed much bigger and stronger than her, he bested her when they were kids, how about now? She could just feel her heart booming against her chest and hand burning.

After what seemed like ages of flying she could see that they were getting close to a snowy mountain top, and he dragged her on top of it.

'I think we'll have some privacy here, Pinkie.'

Blossom looked around at the platform of ice surrounding them.

'What is this?'

'Kilimanjaro.' he said in a straightforward manner.

She looked at him with a mixture of confusion and amazement.

'Don't tell me you never went here out of curiosity.' he added in disbelief.

Blossom shook her head.

'Ahaha, guess I've got to show you lots of things. Why have all this power when you don't use it? ' he smirked.

He formed a red energy ball in his hand and tossed it in her direction.

Surprised, Blossom dodged it just in time. '_Damn, I've definitely lost my touch. This bastard is going to roast me alive if I don't get a hold of myself.'_

'Why are you here after all this time?' she yelled, while forming her own energy ball.

'This isn't the time for questions, Blossom.'

Blossom could see the ice in front of her melting and fuming as his laser eyes closed in on her. She flied behind him and sent multiple sonic waves to his back and saw him tumbling.

He rised, flew towards her and delivered blow after blow. Blossom blocked some of them but Brick managed to poke through defenses relatively easily. He then punched her forcefully in a nearby cliff and used his freezing breath on her until she was encased in a huge ice block, leaving only her head uncovered.

Blossom struggled to break herself free, but she was helpless as he got closer and closer to her, until Brick was a few inches away from her face.

'Don't you find it fascinating how we can breathe easily here? How you can be covered in ice and still give me mean looks? He said softly, not breaking eye contact with her.

'Normal people die trying to climb this damn mountain, and we're hosting a party for two over here.' he smiled at her.

'Why do you care so much about them? Why do you let them control you ? You must have known you had a slim chance of surviving this unscathed.'

He was so close to her Blossom could feel his hot breath on her face, and could smell a hint of... perfume? For some reason she could hardly imagine him putting on perfume. She hadn't noticed his eyes until then, they were darker than hers, a blood red, following her own intently.

Blossom could feel her ribs pushing against the ice, lungs struggling to catch a breath.

''Why? I'm just one, they are many. They have, families, children..'

'And how many of them think about your well-being? Also, does the lion bother himself with the wellbeing of ants?' he asked, twirling a strand of her hair.

'It's not. the. same. We're not animals.' Blossom spat between her teeth.

'Oh, but we may just very well be.' Brick said, crushing the encasing ice and pinning her body against the wall with his.

She could feel his body against hers, and felt guilty for welcoming its warmth. He pinned her arms above her head and got close to whisper in her ear:

'We're on top of the foodchain, baby.'

Blossom snapped her feet on the ground , a huge shockwave started cracking the ice, Brick was taken aback and she managed to release herself from his hold.

Without looking back she started flying away as fast as she could. Only after a few minutes of wading through the cold air she stopped and looked back.

He had either lost her or hadn't followed her. She sighed in relief and rubbed her wrists where she could still feel his hand gripping them tightly.

'Fuck. fuck. fuck. fuck.' Blossom muttered under her breath. 'What the fuck do I do now?'


	5. Confusion

Blossom managed to make her way back in Townsville. Every bone in her body hurt, but she could feel the wounds mending, flesh and bone regenerating.

During her flight she got to think about what her counterpart said_.__'You've never been to Kilimanjaro? You weren't curious at all?_

_'Yeah, why wasn't she curious? They could travel huge distances in the blink of an eye, yet they never really took advantage of it properly._

Her phone had broken when Brick encased her in ice, so she couldn't check on the others yet, but the trip shouldn't take that long.

It was nice and quiet above the clouds. She avoided using her powers ever since Mojo's departure, so she hadn't flown properly in a long time. Maybe it had been her attempt at a normal life, but her powerpuff nature hunted her down... Alex could confirm.

Blossom could feel a metalic taste in her mouth and realised it's her own blood._ 'He could have captured me easily but he didn't. What is he trying to do..? What's his point? Needless to say, this is probably only the beginning. I need to get home before everyone is worried sick.'_

She entered Townsville close to midnight, arrived at their house and noticed a crowd of policemen occupying the porch. As she closed in she saw Bubbles and the Professor.

'Blossom!' the blonde shouted and flew over to embrace her tightly. 'You came back!'

'Of course I'm back, you big baby. Sorry I didn't get to call you, my phone got damaged.' she said reassuringly, patting her head. Bubbles looked like she had the worst night of her life, huge black circles around her eyes and disheveled clothes.

'Blossom, thank God you're alright!' She could hear enormous relief in the professor's voice.

The officers briefed her on what happened after Brick took her. Apparently a few people were hurt when her counterpart smashed through the ceiling by the ensuing rubble, but everyone else was fine. It was going to be all over the news and on the internet in the morning, as press flew in like vultures after everyone was safely out of the Maharaja.

After everyone left, the professor started mending her remaining wounds in the lab.

'Tell me everything, Blossom'

The years hadn't been kind to him, deep frown lines had marred his features and his hair was almost entirely white.

'We fought. He could have captured me but he didn't. I don't know why.'

The professor squinted his eyes

'Did he say anything about his brothers or Mojo Jojo?'

'No.'

'So that's everything that happened? you just fought and he just let you go? he gave her a quizzical look.

'Yes.'

'Alright, then. We'll be prepared if there's a next time. Meanwhile, sleep. Your wounds need to heal.'

As she lay in her bed, Blossom wondered why she hadn't felt comfortable to tell him about Brick's questions, and about him pining her to the wall and whispering in her ear. 'Well, that was part of the fight, you didn't need to give him every tedious detail. ' she said to herself. But she knew that wasn't the case.

The next day she was woken up by a knock in her window. Blossom went to draw the blinds and she saw the face of a journalist with a smartphone in his hand.

'Aw, geez.' she thought.

'I don't have anything to say, leave please.' and drew the blinds back on.

Down in the kitchen Buttercup greeted her with a large grin : 'Lady of the hour, heard you saved lots of people last night at the Maharaja. A bow to that.' she bowed mockingly.

'Too bad you went for the action without me, forgot we're a team, eh?'

'Buttercup, I'm not in the mood for this. You weren't here. I did what I had to do.' she said exhausted while grabbing a piece of toast.

'Yeah, yeah, I know. I'm just messing with ya. I'm really glad you're ok, coulda gone much worse than it did. Did you hit him good at least?' she said mimicking a punch.

'I tried. He's much stronger now.'

'If you didn't, then I will. Hoping his punk ass brother is gonna reach out. Imma show him a good time.'

'I hope he doesn't. I hope they all leave again.' Blossom said massaging her temples.

'Ok, killjoy. Watch out for those paparazzi when you leave the house. Cya'

Blossom had classes around noon, but somehow they felt like a part of another life, a distant life. She wondered what's the best way around the house to avoid the journalists, and decided that getting out of the house through the skylight and flying over their heads might be the best idea.

When she got to the campus everyone looked at her admiringly and she could hear appreciative whispers, and one girl actually had the courage to approach her and say: 'Thank you for what you've done last night, I was in the club and you saved us all!'

'Oh, you're welcome..just doing my job!' Blossom said, slightly uncomfortable.

A few more came to congratulate her.

Looking around she realised this was a weird transition, she wasn't just the freaky superpowered sex girl anymore in their eyes, she was the savior superpowered girl now. And it felt nice, yes? It felt great. It felt... somehow the same?

Mindy joined her for lunch: 'Blossom, I had no idea you're so fuckin cool. God, you're blowing all over Insta. It's everything I could see this morning, clips from last night.'

Blossom gave her a quizzical look. 'My phone got broken last night, I wouldn't know.'

'Jesus, just you see! it's insane!' 'She played a loop of 10 seconds of Brick dropping the prisoner then leaving together through the roof.'

'Who's that guy, anyway? He kinda looks like you.' Mindy said, squinting her eyes.

Blossom shifted uncomfotably in her chair, avoiding her gaze.

'Very long story..I'd rather not right now.'

During the rest of the day she could feel everyone's eyes on her, all the time, and now the gossip she heard was different than before:

_'Heard she blew that guy to smitheens'_

'Blossom_ froze him to death in the Antarctic ice caps'_ And among the other whispers:

_'He probably came there to fuck her but didn't know about her deadly electric pussy. RIP Maharaja dude haha'_

Blossom could feel her blood boiling. The nerve! She risked her life for this?

_'It's just this one stupid guy, it's just this one stupid guy.'_ she said to herself.

Somehow she managed to make it through the day, Mindy kept trying to get more juicy info out of her, but Blossom wasn't feeling it.

Back home she collapsed on her bed, and when her eyes lazily opened she saw a brand new phone on her bed, fresh new case and all. The professor sure was considerate, she thought.

As she logged into all her accounts a flood of tags and messages overwhelmed her on Instagram. She had never posted anything there in an effort to lay low. As she scrolled through the enthusiastic notes she noticed a slew of message requests in her inbox. She reckoned most of them to be press, but one profile made her hastily stop her scrolling. It was blank, and had the username 'Brick Red'. Her heart pounded as she opened the message.

**'I know you could feel it, too. Don't fight it.'**

Blossom felt a blush creep over her face as she remembed the way he held her arms over her head and closed the distance between them.

'What_ the hell is he talking about? _she muttered to herself. 'What_ is he implying?' _a nagging feeling in the pit of her stomach told her she knew exactly what he was implying. Her brain managed to intervene:

' _He's mocking me for sure. Yeah, that must be it. He's fucking with me because he's getting a kick out of it. 'He's just trying to fuck around with me, thinking I'm an impressionable 18 year old who dreams of bad boys abusing me, pinning me on a mountain top and whispering in my ear. Yep, that's exactly it. How stupid of him to think I'd fall for that trick.'_

She spent another hour staring at the words, transfixed. As more time passed, they grew and warped in her head as she drifted off to sleep.

**_'Don't fight it.'_**

**_'Don't fight it'_**

**_'Don't fight it.'_**


	6. Green

Two weeks had passed since her encounter with Brick. Things seemed to return back to normal, although the professor seemed more tired that usual, and she could hear him going down to his lab in the darkest hours of the night. One morning he came out of the lab with a tracking device that they could use if anyone of them was to be in a tightspot ever again.

'I don't want any of you to be separated again. Buttercup, I want you to be in arms' reach at all times. You have no excuses now.' he said while nervously brushing his stubble.

The buzz had died down, and there wasn't any sign of any of the Rowdyruffs.

Blossom liked her walks alone at night, especially when she had late classes and she could clear her head with a walk home. This particular night was quiet, maybe too quiet.

'Well, well, aren't you the little cunt who kicked my brother's ass.' a menacing voice boomed behind her. 'Or so they say'

Without hesitation, Blossom pushed the alarm button in her pocket asking for help. Before she could do anything else she could feel a sharp pain in her back, and let out a terrifying scream.

She collapsed on her knees and saw a green dash flying above her head and stopping in front of her. The green Rowdyruff was considerably more muscular, had a worn out Tshirt on and an overall gruff vibe.

'I've no idea why Brick decided to come back to this dump. Thought he wanted the updated Powerpuff challenge, but you're on your knees already from just one blow.' he approached her. 'Although you don't look that bad on your knees, I can give you something if you promise you won't bite' he smirked.

'What part of 'don't meddle with my shit' don't you understand, Butch? they heard a calm voice coming from the dark.

'Jeez , Brick, you almost scared me.'

'Almost..? You should be scared since you decided it's time to fuck around in business that's isn't yours'. Brick barked and flew between his brother and Blossom.

Butch bared his teeth at him.

'I wanted to see why you'd come back to this shithole. I have an idea now.'

They gave eachother dirty looks, and Blossom took the opportunity to rise and smash Brick into his brother. Unawares, they both collapsed into a building nearby, their bodies leaving a huge dent. Butch clenched his teeth and charged towards Blossom, but he was crushed again in the pavement by another green dash.

'Pick on someone your own size, you piece of shit. Come at me!' Buttercup yelled.

Disturbed by the commotion, people in the buildings nearby opened their windows, some of them even coming outside not knowing the cause of the ruckus.

'Shit. shit. shit. shit. I need to draw him away from here. I hope Buttercup has enough sense in her to do the same' she thought.

Blossom flew upwards as fast as she could and could see the red dash following her. When she could no longer see the city lights she stopped.

The redhead froze as she felt arms embracing her from the back.

' Don't mind my brother, he's a brute.' he whispered in her hair.

'...And you aren't?'

'I'm more of a classy brute myself.' he said, sending both of them in a downwards plunge in the darkness.

Blossom felt like riding a rollercoaster to hell, crashing heads down into the unknown with him holding her tight to his chest.

'See what we can do?' he said, clutching her closer to his chest 'Isn't this incredible?'

Blossom tore herself away from his embrace and stopped their downwards trip in its tracks. She rubbed her eyes in frustration.

'What the hell are you doing, Brick? What's your plan with all of this? What's with the the message on the pillow, and-and now this?' Blossom made an exasperated hand gesture, she was positively sure she looked like a mad woman.

'Can't I play with my food before I eat it? he grinned. Or are you as straight-edge and serious as you appear? I've heard otherwise, though.'

Blossom furrowed her brows. 'I'm not playing your games.'

Brick ignored her and continued: 'I'm just saying that I wouldn't mind a little shock therapy. Hell, I'd even welcome it.'

The redhead was mortified as blood flooded her cheeks. She just turned away from him and flied away as fast as she could, but he soon stopped her in her tracks.

'He was weak, a puny human, pinky. And they're scared of you, rightfully so, they should be.' his gaze darkened. 'You've got no place among them. You are perfect.' he said, cupping her chin, his thumb rolling to her bottom lip, gently massaging it.

Blossom was entraced, she could feel herself getting warm at the core.

Brick suddenly stopped:

'Cya later, baby. Think about it.' he grinned and promptly flew away.

If she could collapse on the ground, she would. But she just stood motionless in the middle of the night sky.

'I'm so messed up' she murmured.


	7. Blue

Bubbles had found them both collapsed side-by-side in a pool of blood. She panicked and touched her sister's forehead.

'Buttercup! she yelled. 'Please! Please be ok! ' the younger sister yelled.

Buttercup lazily opened her eyes, raised a finger and winked at her.

'Watch out...she spat, coughing some blood. 'There's one more..'

Bubbles looked around, distraught, feeling her stomach clenched in fear.

Behind a nearby car she could see a blonde boy watching them.

They locked eyes and Bubbles defensively embraced her sister.

'Calm down, I don't want to attack you.'

Bubbles looked puzzled.

'They're both nearly dead... somebody has to get them home.' he said, flying towards her. 'We're the only ones left standing.' the blonde smiled sadly.

Bubbles' eyes softened.

'Yeah, you're right... Thanks.'

Boomer placed his arms under Butch's body and gently raised him.

'See you around.' he said before taking off.

'What happened?' Buttercup asked, her voice hoarse and cracked.

' ...He just grabbed his brother and left, I guess.' the blonde said as she lifted her sister from the pool of blood.

'What? BC croaked. Just like that?'

'He was...kind.'

Buttercup tried to laugh, but only managed to choke instead. 'That's rich.'

Blossom arrived while Buttercup was already laying on a bed in the professor's lab. Chemical X was already doing its magic, her shallow wounds had disappeared already, the deeper gashes starting to close.

'This is nothing. You shoulda seen the other guy.' she grinned. 'Did you lose the other one? You're barely scratched.'

Blossom seemed distant, her gaze clouded.

'Uh, yeah... he lost my trail.' The redhead gave her sister a pained smile.

'Thank you for this, Buttercup.'

'No problem, I owed you one. Besides, it was fun.' she said, folding her arms behind her head. 'The most fun I've had in a long time.'

'We're back to the daily grind, she grinned. Just like the good old days.'

'_Is this all my fault? Did all of this start because he's trying to get to me?'_

'_And he found out about Alex... I really hope he isn't hurt. He might have harmed him judging by how sociopathic he sounded when talking about normal people.'_

Blossom could remember how his touch turned her into a quivering mess.

'_Why, you idiot, why? Get your act together before something stupid happens.'_

_But what could happen? _she wondered, and could feel warmth building up in her core._ 'Why is **this** even crossing your mind? Are you insane?'_

_'You could do **it** with him, he said so himself.'_ a voice inside her answered.

A familiar knot formed in her stomach, and she felt revulsed for entertaining the idea.

_'You really are such a cliche, aren't you? Getting all hot and bothered as soon as a messed up guy gives you the smallest sliver of attention. You're pathetic.'_

The night flew by as Blossom struggled with her own thoughts. She could feel the conflict escalating inside her as the days passed, and the redhead felt as if she was stuck in a vortex.

Everything else that happened around her seemed pointless and inane, and she could only focus on a certain redhead's intentions.


	8. Choice

'Blossom, wake up! Wake up!'

She opened her eyes and looked around, confused. It was still dark and at the foot of her bed was Bubbles.

'He's asking for you again.' Bubbles muttered. 'It's really bad this time.'

'Wha-what happened? Blossom mumbled, still trying to gain her composture.

'Not sure yet, but the police said we should come as fast as possible.'

'Is Buttercup up? The Professor?' Blossom asked, climbing out of the bed and putting on the closest clothes she could find.

'Ye, they are, but we all waited for you.' Bubbles said nervously tugging a strand behind her ear. 'Has he said anything? Do you know what he might want?'

'No. No, he hasn't.' _'Am I lying?'_

Downstairs Buttercup was pacing back and forth, and the professor brooded in a corner, with one eye watching the television. It seemed to be a live brodcast judging by the unpolished visuals and the anchor's distraught voice.

'There you are, about fucking time. We've been waiting forever.' Buttercup yelled, her. eyes throwing daggers at her. Her wounds were healing rapidly, but the deeper ones still showed, especially a deep gash in her stomach area.

'What's happening? Where is this filmed?'

'Downtown. In front of the Empire hotel.' the professor promptly answered.

'The red asshole is asking for you personally again. what's his deal? is this some sick joke?' Buttercup snapped.

Blossom said rubbed her eyes in frustration. The Professor furrowed his brow.

'Blossom, if you know anything we don't, please say so now.'

_'How can I even phrase this without sounding ridiculous? Is this even remotely true? 'He wants sex'. It sounds crazy. He's most likely fucking with me to hide his true intentions'_'

We need to go. Girls, you're probably going to have to deal with the other two, they're likely waiting around. We'll see. I'll take him on alone.'

'Isn't that exactly what he wants, though?' the professor inquired.

'It's either that or civilian casualties. I've made my choice.'

Before he knew it, he could only see three colored streaks that signalled their departure.

As they arrived to the Empire, Blossom could see hoards of people watching from afar, the police barely containing them. near the top of the Empire she make out Brick's figure, holding in each hand a different person. He was joined by his brothers, they were all hovering menacingly above the crowd.

'Let's get closer. No sudden moves.' Blossom said.

Before she got to say anything more she could see her green sister slamming into her counterpart, both propelling into a nearby building.

'I don't think she heard you.' Bubbles added.

'You don't say... Ok, let's try to minimize the destruction here. If we can draw them out of downtown it's for the best.'

They slowly flew to their level, at which point Blossom could see a smile creeping on Brick's face.

'You're just in time for the show. Actually, you get to star in it. ' his face lit up with a sadistic grin.

Blossom's blood chilled. She could feel something was different this time.

'Boomer, keep her sister busy for me, will you? I've got some lessons to teach today.'

Before Bubbles could react, the blonde's arms coiled around her and she was whisked away into space.

'Now that it's just the two of us again, I'll start showing you what they're really like.'

Suddenly, his voice boomed across downtown, every person on a 1 mile radius could hear what he said.

'People of Townsville, we are gathered here in this, might I add, glorious day to witness the power of choice.' he raised his right arm, it clutched a man's throat. 'In my right hand here I've got a hardworking father of three. He's got two toddlers at home, very pleaseant kids I might add.' In my left hand I've got his eldest son. He's 11, I asked him earlier.' he said, choking the boy in his left hand. His hand was wet, the boy had been crying.

'Blossom here decides who's going to live today. What do you think, who should get to live?'

There was momentary silence in the crowd, followed by crazed yells and protests.

Blossom could feel a chill down her spine, her whole world collapsing.

'You don't have to do this.'

His voice lowered as he gave her a smile.

'No, I don't. But I want to. I'm teaching you a lesson. You'll see why in the aftermath.'

'Tell me now! Nobody needs to get hurt for it.' Blossom pleaded.

'To get the best results possible you need to go to extremes. And you are going to hate me, at least for a while, but I'm willing to go through with it so you can understand what you are. '

'What am I?' Blossom yelled in exasperation. 'Is this the sociopathic crap again? I understand it, but you don't have to kill anoyone to prove it. '

Bricked smirked and shook his head.

'Partially. I want you to see them for the malicious little ants they are. Enough talking, let's do this.' he raised higher in the air.

'Please, don't.' the choked man groaned.

Bricked ignored his pleas, flying higher into the air, Blossom following him.

'Miss, save my son. Please save my son'

The redhead could feel her heart sinking. Has it come down to this? Before she could think anything more, she saw Brick throwing away them forcefully into opposite directions.

'Make your choice.'

After a moment of hesitation she went after the child as fast as she could and grabbed him by the torso. Blossom made a 180 to go after the dad, could see him freefalling into the distance but before she reached him his body had smashed into a nearby building.

'_..what..?'_

Blossom got to the body, onlookers were already gathered around him. The boy jumped from her arms and she heard the his gut-wrenching scream 'Papa!' The father was covered in blood, his body was crushed at the impact, his limbs positioned into unnatural angles

_'what..what have I done..?'_


	9. Capture

The crowd was growing larger and larger, the nearby paramedics arrived, but is seemed obvious to everyone it was too late.

'I'm sorry...He's gone. He was crushed to death, died upon impact most likely.'

Blossom still stared at the contorted body, her limbs frozen in place and her mind almost blocking all the commotion around her. She could still hear the child crying, though, his screams pierced the wall she had inadvertently built.

'Miss Utonium' a policeman adressed her timidly.

'Huh?' she asked as if she were in a drunken haze.

'...Your attacker has left the premises. Your sister is still fighting the other one.'

' Of course.' she murmured.

She slowly raised herself above the crowd and could hear the rustling and chattering intensifying bellow her. She could see two green stripes in the distance, jerking rapidly like two flies caught in a jar. Blossom managed to drag herself closer in spite of the overwhelming weight she could feel dragging on her limbs.

As she drew closer, Blossom could see Buttercup as well as her counterpart soaked in blood, throwing furious punches at eachother. Her sister was yelling something incomprehensible at him, and his answer came in maniacal laughter.

When she reached them Buttercup had punched him into a nearby building, and Blossom took the opportunity to pin him down. Her sister then began a salve of hits to his stomach, each stronger than the last.

'WHY. WON'T. YOU.FUCKING. DIE. YOU. PIECE. OF. SHIT. I HATE YOU.'

The boy coughed blood, his body jerking with each hit. As she continued he started laughing.

'You stupid bitch. You know we can't die. '

Buttercup yelled and continued her assault, her sister still too shocked to bother to put reins on her. Eventually she paused, heaving over his beaten body.

Butch looked at her in disgust and spat some of his blood in her face.

'What a weak ass cunt you are. You could never take me down yourself, needed her help.' he motioned towards Blossom. 'Fucking pathetic.'

'AAAAAAARGH!' Buttercup's eyed widened in temporary insanity as she raised her fist to land another blow.

'Stop.' Blossom said coldly, finally awakening from her haze. 'It's pointless. We just need to take him with us.'

The green's fist stopped midway, her eye still twitching at him.

'Listening to mommy's orders, are we?' Butch said in a sing-song voice.

'Don't. let him provoke you' the red said firmly. 'Just help me get him to the ground. Don't lose him out of sight.'

Blossom held his arms behind her back while Buttercup managed to pin him in a headlock.

On the ground, the policemen surrounded them.

'Don't get too close, he's dangerous.' the red said, holding him tighter.

'We need to take him somewhere safe, we don't need anyone else to get hurt.' she muttered.

Butch's blodshot eyes tried to reach around to her.

'Say, my brother really did a number on you, eh?'

Blossom didn't answer. Buttercup looked around in the crowd.

'Shut your piehole.' she punched Buch in the mouth. 'What happened here?Where is that son of a bitch?'

'...We'll talk later.'

As they followed the cops, the redhead could feel countless pairs of eyes following their every step, burning into the back of her head.

_'Just look ahead. Just...look ahead.'_


	10. Bait

'I told you already, I ain't got anything to tell' Butch grinned, leaning forward. 'And even if I did, I wouldn't.'

The FBI detective raised his eyebrow.

'So...we're supposed to believe you came here after 10 years of absence...for no reason?'

'What can I say, I'm a sensitive guy.' he said, spitting on the floor.' I got nostalgic'

'Can you believe this shit? Buttercup motioned towards her sister. 'Detective, how about you scoot over for a bit? If six hours of talking to this cumstain won't do anything, maybe a punch to the nutsack will do.

'Oh, you're invited to punch my nutsack.' Butched leaned in. 'With that sweet pussy of yours.' he grinned.

'That's it, I'm fucking done.' Buttercup raised her hands in exasperation and left the interrogation room.

'Come back, Buttercup.' Blossom said, eyes still pinned on her enemy. 'You know I can't subdue him by myself.'

'Yeah, yeah, whatever.' the brunette walked back in, pacing back and forth like a caged lion.'

'You know, if you're tired from all that walking you're always welcome to sit on my face.' he winked at her.

Buttercup lost her temper and landed an uppercut on his jaw, drawing blood from his mouth.'

'No, thanks. I don't wanna get any blood on my pants.' He opened his mouth to reply, but she lowered her voice to mock his own. 'Who said you needed any pants? Isn't that what you wanted to say? You're such a cliché I wanna puke my guts out.'

Butch smiled, his teeth bloodied.

'Nah, I wanted to say that you're prolly already bloody down there today considering your bitchy attitude, but I like your version better.' he licked his lips.

'You're disgusting.' Buttercup sneered. 'I say we torture him till he spills the beans.' she turned towards Blossom and the detective.

'Brick will come after me, you know. Anytime now. ' he said, eyeing the redhead.

Blossom could feel a knot forming in her stomach.

'My brothers will trash this place down in an instant. After we're done I'm taking Feisty here with me as a sex slave. You gotta put all that passion to good use.'

Buttercup mouthed. 'F U C K Y O U'

They could feel someone entering the room from behind them. It was the professor, he seemed troubled.

'Have you managed to find out anything from him?'

'Fat chance, old man.' Butch answered himself. 'Listen, I'd love to stay and chat but I really wanna sleep in my own bed tonight. Tell your little minions here to let me go before anything worse happens.'

The professor handed Blossom a small piece of paper: 'Bubbles hasn't returned. Her GPS tracker places her somewhere in Tanzania, East Africa'

Blossom's eyes widened in shock. _'East Africa? Did they catch Bubbles as well? __Did Boomer take her there? Has he captured her? Is Brick with them?'endless_ questions flooded her mind.

Another detective came in and passed them a piece of paper.

'Sunrise Bridge. Brick Jojo is holding hostages. Demands us to release his brother.'

'What's with all the secrecy? I can handle the news..Butch smirked. 'Seems like you're the ones who can't.'

'Come on, shitface, let's go for a ride.' the rowdy sister said grabbing him by the collar.

'Right on. Is the disabled toilet ok for you? I think I saw one down the hall.'

Blossom followed them quietly.

_'I don't think I can go through with this again. I can't. '_

'Blossom.' she felt a hand resting on her shoulder. 'It's not your fault. You did everything you could about it.'

She let out a huge sigh, but did not reply. Her heart could only count down the seconds to the next encounter.


	11. News

This time they could all see him clearly from afar, mostly because two school busses floating in midair wouldn't be a normal everyday sight. He was holding them as if they were nothing, and terrified cries of children could be heard from inside them.

'What the.. fuck?' Blossom could see her sister muttering.

'I told you. Don't fuck with Brick.' said her counterpart, attempting to loosen Blossom's grip.

'Bro!' he yelled. 'It's about time!'

His brother got closer, still holding the busses midair.

'A trade. My brother for the children's lives. ' he said unflinchingly.

'Blossom looked around. She decided she would play it cool, mention Bubbles only if it was obvious they had captured her.

'Where is your brother?' Blossom asked. 'I can't do the trade if he isn't fully visible, so that I know you're being fair about it.'

Brick furrowed his brows. 'Boomer? He has been out of reach for a while. Why?' He squinted his eyes. 'Are you scared we might have your sister?

Blossom shuddered at the thought. _'Is he bluffing? It's hard to tell with him. Why wouldn't he present her as a trade if that were the case? Is he keeping her as leverage for later on?'_

'Your sister is probably fine. Unlike you, we don't go around kidnaping and torturing our own kind.' he smiled.

'You're holding two busses filled of screaming children, Brick. I think that qualifies as torture.' Blossom retorted coldly.

Her counterpart grimaced: 'Aren't you a bit slow on the uptake? I said OUR kind, us. We have about as much in common with these talking apes as we do with the average chimp.' he shook the busses and the cries intensified.

'So what will it be? Your call, Pinkie.'

Blossom was torn. Images of Bubbles calling for help, being used as a plaything at the hands of the Rowdyruffs kept flooding her brain. On the other side she could clearly see the children screaming and vomiting in the shaking buses.

'I..I need to see that your brother is here first. I need to see him. ' she exhaled. 'And my sister, too.'

'Tsk, we could be waiting for hours. Are you willing to do that? The kids will miss dinnertime for sure.' he teased, giving the busses another shake. 'I'm trying to be the better man here and let you solve this casualty free , but looks like you're the cruel one this time. Funny how the tables have turned.'

Blossom could feel her resolve budging.

'Can't wait for the headlines tomorrow.' his voice boomed again for the crowd to hear.:' Blossom Utonium caused the death of multiple school children. She wasn't willing to trade in the enemy.'

'YOU FUCKING SCUM.' Blossom could her her sister yelling. 'I'M GONNA PERSONALLY HUNT YOU DOWN AND END YOU.'

'Hey, one bad guy speech from Brick and you forgot about me already, babe? I'm jealous.' Butch chimed in.

'Buttercup, keep your cool.' she placed an arm in front of the brunette to keep her contained.

'Fine, Brick said. So be it, as you like it.' he raised his arms and threw the busses forcefully towards the river's water, one on each side of the bridge.

Blossom was stunned, but then she noticed a green streak going towards the right, so she followed suit, going after the bus on the left. By the time she had reached it it had made a huge splash in the water and it was drowning rapidly. Blossom dove into the river and retrieved it, and for a while all she could hear was the sound of coughing and children yelling in panic. She laid the bus on the river bank just in time before she felt someone whisking her away forcefully.

She struggled to escape the grip, but before she could do anything she was pinned high on the glass windows of a nearby sky scraper.

'Fuck, you're so wet.' he murmured in her ear. 'Well, not the good kind.'

She could feel his hot breath on the nape of her neck as his arms slithered around her waist.

'I like it that you're stubborn. It drives me crazy.'

'You're insane. You're a psychopath!' she spat. 'What makes you think I would ever want ...this ...after all you've done?' Blossom choked up.

Brick let her go, cupped her chin and said, staring into her pink orbs.

'We'll see about that. You're right, though. I might have gone a bit overboard.' he gave her a half-smile.

_'What? ' _Blossom wasn't expecting that.

'But, I hoped that if it hit you head on it might be for the best.'

Blossom gave him a questioning look.

'You'll see.'

He grabbed her hands, interlocked his fingers into hers and pinned her against the window. He then looked inside above her shoulders.

'Every day they come into these offices, gossip by the water coolers, do their menial work in tiny cubicles...lead dull, meaningless lives. It's a maze for rats to die in.'

He averted his gaze back to her. Blossom could feel his blood red eyes drawing her in, she shook her head and regained her composture.

'And does that entitle you to torturing them? Just because you're stronger and less limited? It's despicable.'

Brick chuckled ' Like they don't lose sleep over torturing millions of animals each day, that's how I don't either.'

'You repulse me!' she sneered at him.

Brick cocked his head to the side: 'Are you sure about that? Do you think I can't feel you melting whenever I get close to you? Give me some credit.' he winked.

'Where's my sister? What have you done with her?' Blossom asked, attempting to ignore his reply.

'Like I said, I have no idea where my brother is, either. You really don't trust me at all, do you?'

It was quite windy that high, Blossom could feel herself getting cold. Her back was stuck to the glass , her chest exposed to Brick's view, as her arms were held by him alongside her body. The T-shirt she was wearing was soaked, and her nipples pointed out through the cotton. She could see him staring, and could feel a familiar warmth in her core.

'How can I possibly hold back when I see you looking like this?' he said huskily, his gaze darkening.

He let her go, took off his jacket and handed it to her.

'I won't until you want me to. '

'I don't...' Blossom began her reply, but he was already gone.


	12. Consequences

The room was dark, she needed it to be that way. It had been a few days since the events and she still couldn't wrap her head around it, she had closed herself off from the world, hidden in her room. She had also closed her phone and given it to Bubbles since that day, as it started buzzing the moment everything went down.

'I_ do have to leave this room eventually. Can't hide in here forever.' _she rolled over from one side to the other. On the right side of the bed there was an endless supply of empty cups and plates that she had used. This never happened. This wasn't her.

She could see the door squeaking and creeping open, and Bubbles' pigtails appeared in the frame.

'Um, Blossom? We had burgers for dinner, I'll leave one here for you, if you wanna eat.'

'Um, yeah, sure, thanks.'

Bubbles' had returned later that day, the 'Two schoolbusses' day. She was unscathed, and looked flustered when she was asked questions.

'What happened? Why were you in Tanzania?'

'He..took me to the savanah. Wanted to show me the animals.'

'Show you the animals??'

'Yeah, he said he doesn't want to fight me and he'd rather we do something enjoyable for both. He said he can easily beat me up so I should try not to get away.' Bubbled said, flustered.

'What??' everyone asked in shock.

'It was...nice.' she blushed. 'He also got me icecream...we had icecream. Strawberry-vanilla. '

It seemed so surreal to hear that from Bubbles after that day's events. Buttercup had gotten into another fight with Butch after the busses ordeal and both her eyes were black and nose broken. Blossom was still catatonic, limply holding Brick's jacket in her arms.

It was still in her room, she had put in under her bed, she didn't exactly know why. She reached for it blindly in the dark. It was soft and leathery, and she knew it to be red(fittingly so).She reached for the pockets, she had done it before, so it was no surprise. Gum, a set of keys, a packet of Oreos. She couldn't imagine him having a sweet tooth for some reason. Absent-mindedly she brought the jacket close to her face ,took a whiff and felt an earthy musky smell.

'_It's the same perfume as the first time. This is what he wears daily.'...What the fuck am I doing?'_

She threw the jacket across the room.

'I_ need to get out of here. Fast. I'm apparently going insane .'_

Blossom crawled out of bed and managed to make it through the hallway. She could hear the sound of the TV in the living room. As she went down the stairs she could make out 'days later, the tragedy still has Townsville shaken to the core. One parent and two children dead...'

_'Two children...?_

She made it downstairdownstairs where she could see Bubbles watching TV by herself.

'Oh..you're out.' In a panic, she reached for the remote to close the tv.

'No, leave it. I want to know.'

'It's just a dumb talkshow, we can watch something else.'

'No, I want to hear them.'

Sitting at a table were three men and a woman, one of a man was in the middle of a fervent monologue.

'...**it can be argued that she didn't have a choice, but is that the case? Are the lives of dozens of children less important than the possible kidnaping of just one invincible person? I don't think that's the case, Tom. And if you have that level of power in your hands you should have your priorities straight...'**

There was also a poll at the bottom of the TV screen 'Who would you have saved? Mr Thompson or his eldest child. Vote now.'

Blossom could feel the warmth leaving her body, even though Bubbles had embraced her from behind.

**'New hot gossip, tonight with Tommy McLaren. Blossom Utonium has caused havoc before, only of a different nature. Tune in to hear one ER nurse's spicy story!'**

Blossom turned mechanically towards her sister. 'Is that the real body-count? One adult, two children?'

Bubbles answered, averting her gaze.

'Yes...'

'I'm so sorry, Blossom! It's all my fault! I should have fought him and made my way back to you in time!' she nearly shouted, crying.

'It's ok. He was right, you couldn't have bested him alone. I've seen how strong they are. It's not your fault, it's mine. I took the call and I was wrong.'

'No, it's that psycho's fault.' they heard a voice behind them.

'You did what you had to do.' They turned around and could see Buttercup sitting in the doorway. She came closer and sat next to them.

'Has anything else happened since that day?'

'Besides media sprouting bullshit and us forcibly shunning crowds away from our house, no.'

'I'm sorry I've been out of it...It must have been difficult.'

No, we got you. It must have been difficult for you, too.' Buttercup retorted.

'What can we do about it? What does the Professor say?'

'Well, he's been locked away in his lab for the past few days. I think he's trying to figure something out.'

'Good.' Blossom muttered. _'At least someone isn't totally confused.'_

A few more days passed in a blur, when it finally dawned on Blossom that she hadn't been to college in two weeks.

_'Fuck..it all seems so distant now, and trivial. How can I go back and pretend nothing like this has happened?'_

Blossom took a peek behind the curtains and noticed a reporter attempting to hide behind a bush, and another oogling her from his car.

_'No, I can't go back. Not now.'_

She imagined their horrified reactions, their fearful smiles if she ever happened to make eye contact.

'I've_ essentially turned into a murderer... or some sort of a cruel God who chooses who gets to die and who gets spared.' _she furrowed her brows, and massaged her temples as she felt a migraine setting in.

Suddenly she heard commotion outside of her window, and felt a small knock on her door.

'Come in, Bubbles. What is it?' she said, wearily.

'Uhm, Blossom, Alex is here to see you. '

'Alex as in...Alex my ex, Alex?' she said in bewilderment.

'Yeah...I think so. I let him in. Should I tell him to come up?' she asked timidly.

'NOOO! 'Blossom croaked, almost stumbling off her armchair.

'No, Bubbles, I-I'll go down myself.' she said, regaining composture. 'Just give me a minute.'

'Ok.' Bubbles said, closing the door.

_'I should at least have some semblance of my dignity.' _Blossom said, grabbing her very uncombed hair and stuffing in in a hasty ponytail. 'what_ could he possibly want from me?'_

She went downstairs and was met with his handsome, yet marred face giving her a weary, yet understanding look.

'Hey, Blossom. ' he tentatively smiled.

'Hello.' she muttered. 'What brings you here?'

'I was wondering if we could talk for a bit.' he looked around, but Bubbles had already wandered off.

Blossom unwillingly crossed her arms and motioned at him to speak.

'I know we haven't been on best of terms. Most of it..no, all of it being my doing.'

Blossom's eyebrows raised.

'I..I wanted to see how you're holding up. You haven't been back to college since the..events.'

Blossom averted her gaze and replied:

'You don't have to worry about me. I'm fine.' she said, looking blankly through a crack in the curtains.

'I'll always be fine. I'm not the one in danger.' she sighed.

'I just wanted you to know.' he interrupted her. ' I don't think it's your fault. I thought you should know that. '

Blossom was taken aback and shook her head in disbelief.

'Even with me...you couldn't control it. And now? All these people who judge you would have done way worse.'

'So I guess I just wanted to say..you have a friend in me.' he came closer and took one of her hands in his.

Blossom could feel her eyes watering as his grip tightened.

'Thank you, Alex.'

As he was leaving, she couldn't help but feel a familiar pang of guilt:

'I_ hurt him so bad and he finally forgave me. This is everything I wanted all along, right? Why do I still feel so awful, then? I felt better knowing he hated me, I deserved it. I deserve all of this, don't I?'_


	13. Jacket

Two more weeks passed and things were beginning to cool down. No longer was any news story about her alone. Blossom didn't feel ready to leave the house yet, but she slowly picked herself up: the mountain of unwashed dishes had vanished and she started to meet her family for meals everyday.

She finally opened her phone and witnessed the wave of articles herself, her instagram was also filled with tag notifications and messages(mostly hate filled) so she decided to close her account altogether.

Her conscience kept pestering her, but she couldn't bring herself to talk to the victims' families. The guilt ate at her, and every night it would take forever to fall asleep. On one such night she could feel repeated taps on her window.

She went to check, and there he was, the one who had caused all this havoc in her life. She reached for the alarm button on her wrist, but she had taken it off for bedtime. What should she do? Even if they captured him another 'exchange' would insue.

'Don't. call anyone, please.' he said softly 'I'm just here for my jacket.'

_'Jacket..? After a month? Fine. Maybe he leaves after that.' _

Blossom turned around, grabbed his jacket under her bed and pushed it into his arms.

'There. Now you can leave.' she said, attempting to close the window.

Before she could close it, he was inside the room, sitting at her desk.

'Since I'm already here, maybe we could talk.'

Moonlight illuminated his features, and for the first time she got to study him properly. His face looked so much like her own it was distracting, but his jaw was more chiseled, all his contours sharp while her own were softened. He had muscular but lean limbs that slouched on the chair, he was very relaxed even though he stood in the enemy's home. His eyes said a different story though, steely and piercing as he watched her every move.

'Go ahead. It's not I could stop you from talking so far.'

'Is it true?' he asked, looking at her intently.

'What are you talking about?' Blossom said, genuinely confused.

'You and that..guy. Are you seeing him again?' he fidgeted uncomfortably.

'That guy..? You go ahead and kill three people then ask me if I'm seeing a guy?'

'Are. you. seeing. that guy?' he raised and approached her. 'I've heard rumors...Press.'

'We both know how the rumor bin goes.' she couldn't help herself from saying. 'And even if I did, what is it to you?'

His brow furrowed and a wave of annoyance took over his features.

'Don't play dumb.' he grimaced. ' Or are you just teasing me?'

Blossom could feel a guilty flutter of satisfaction.

'You know I'll kill him if it's true.' his composture changed.

'Killing everyone who talks to me doesn't make me more interested in sleeping with you.' she spat at him.

He got closer, Blossom retreated but he closed the space and cupped her jaw.

'No, but it sure thins down the competition.'

Blossom didn't move away, they were silent for a moment. His hand was warm, and his thumb began caressing her cheek. She felt every stroke with her entire body. _'What does he do to make me feel like this?' it's so wrong. So very wrong' _

'Please, don't.' she pleaded. 'I can't do this anymore. I caused their deaths.'

'You still care? he frowned. Haven't you seen what they're saying about you in the news? '

'And they're right.'

'No, they're not. I forced you into it.'

'It was a waste of time if it didn't change your mind about them.' His hand dropped as he sat on the bed.

'What if I don't change my mind? What are you going to do?' she sat next to him.

He smirked. 'Oh, you will. I just have to change the tactic, try smarter. ' 'You're worth it.'

He grabbed her by the small of her neck and leaned in searching for her mouth. Before she could react, Blossom was drawn in by his hungry lips, and she could feel his tongue slipping between her own. It wasn't like any kiss she ever had, it send shockwaves through her whole body, and she could feel her core screaming for more. His scent enveloped her, it was so much stronger than clutching on the jacket. It was him who broke it off , and he looked ahead blinking rapidly.

'Fuck. fuck. I said I wouldn't if you don't want it.'

He looked back at Blossom, her gaze was cloudy and cheeks flushed.

'Or.. maybe you already do.'

He leaned in again, this time more purposefully and claimed her. His kiss was slow and intense, he took time to explore her mouth and nibble on her lower lip. Spurned on, Blossom reciprocated, feeling her control fade with each kiss. He pinned her on the bed, his tresses covering them and he continued the assault on her mouth. He moved down to her neck when he heard a small voice:

'I can't.'

Looking up to Blossom he could see tears pooling in her eyes.

'I can wait.'

When Blossom looked down he was already gone. The taste of him was still lingering on her lips.

He had left the jacket. She impulsively grabbed it and took a deep breath. She burried her nose into the red leather and pictured him ravaging her body on that very bed.

'...'

'_What's wrong with me? I'm so fucked up.'_


	14. Low

After Brick left she couldn't catch a wink of sleep. She felt so dirty and depraved she went and took two showers to wash the feeling off. Blossom thought she could still smell him on her skin, two showers later.

The fact that she enjoyed _that _so much felt like a slap in the face of the victims. She couldn't even imagine her sisters' reaction if they found out about his visit.

_'Am I a sex maniac? Is that it? Maybe everyone in school is right..?'_She stored the jacket in the farthest corner of her closet. It was clearly too dangerous too keep around.

'But what do I do about **him? **How do I face him again? He was ready to do it here..on my bed.'

The thought of her spreading her legs with her family asleep in the same house made her die of embarrassment. She somehow managed to make it throughout the night without going completely insane.

Near the break of dawn she could hear the sound of a door opening downstairs and a sudden thud.

_'Could it be him?' _she rushed downstairs as fast as she could only to be greeted by the sight of a beaten to a pulp Buttercup lying on the floor, blood dripping from her wounds. There wasn't a place on her body that wasn't bruised or cut.

''Jesus, Buttercup, what happened?

'Shhhh, I don't want to wake everybody up. I'm fine.'

'This looks far from fine to me?'

'I'm ok, I just went and got trashed at the biker bar, then fought everyone there.' she said, all in one breath.

Blossom raised an eyebrow, she couldn't imagine her sister getting bested by a gang of humans, even if they were the scariest around. _'Humans...? I sound like him '_

'Yea, so, imma just go to my room now.'

Buttercup attempted to get up the stairs, but she was staggering so Blossom assisted her.

'Don't lie to me.' Blossom whispered in her ear. 'I know it's weird coming from me... but I won't judge you for it.'

''I told you what happened. What more do you want?' Buttercup said, half annoyed.

They got her to the green room and Blossom tucked her in bed.

'Ok, sleep tight. I'll go wipe the blood.'

Before she closed the door completely, she heard hee sister saying.

'I went to fight him, ok?'

Blossom got back inside the room. 'Who?'

'That sick fuck.'

'Brick?' she asked, feeling a sudden pang of jealousy.

'No, not Brick. The green one.'

'Oh.' Blossom mouthed and sat on the edge of the bed.

'So that's it, goodnight. Buttercup covered herself with the blanket and turned her back to her sister.

Blossom went to clean the blood in the doorway. She thought about pressing for more details tomorrow, but knowing Buttercup she wouldn't budge.

'_You could just tell her about Brick , then maybe she'd be willing to share as well.'_

'Oh_, good one. Yeah, never in a million years.'_

She ran into the professor the next day at breakfast:

'Buttercup is not feeling very well today, she said she just wants to stay alone in her room.'

'Oh, I see. Better not disturb her then.' said the professor wiping his classes on the tablecloth.

_'I guess I started covering for you, BC. Would it have happened a few weeks ago? Probably not.'_

'What about you, Blossom? How are you feeling?' She could feel his concerned gaze piercing through her. 'Have you thought about getting out of the house, going back to college?

'...Professor..'

'Fair enough. I can't force you. ' he gave her a sideways glance. 'Don't let them control your mind. It's not your fault. '

Blossom winced and continues to unenthusiastically eat her cereal.

As she went back upstairs she found her phone glowing with 3 missed calls from Mindy. What could it be?

As she rang back, Mindy answered immediately:

'Hey, Mindy. what's wrong?' she could hear yells rustling on the other line.

' It's about you, a dude came here to threathen Alex. I think they're about to fight, hurry up!!'

'_oh no, please no.' _Blossom thought as she sprang through her window.

As she arrived, she noticed a huge crowd Blossom managed to wade through it, and noticed two people at the center. One was Alex, who seemed less than thrilled to be there, and another was a tall figure wearing a concealing black hoodie.

'Did you understand what I said? Is it clear to you?' It was **his **unmistakable voice.

'I don't know who you are, dude. You can't just waltz in and tell me what not to do.'

'Like I said, you don't have a choice in it. I'm merely being nice by warning you. You should appreciate it.' the figure said cooly.

'I don't appreciate controlling people. What are you to her, anyway? She didn't mention having a new boyfriend.' Alex spat, crossing his arms.

'It's none of your concern. You should just stay away from her like I said and nothing bad happens to you.'

Alex noticed Blossom in the crowd and called for her:

'Blossom, who the hell is this guy?'

The figure turned around:

'Hey, Pink.' he smiled and came closer, whispering in her ear: 'You told me you don't want him dead. I'm making sure he doesn't do anything that might put him in that position. '

Blossom found herself at a loss for words. She knew that the situation could get very wrong, very fast. Any minute Alex could say something that could end in violence if she didn't play her cards right.

'He's...my boyfriend. Yeah, my boyfriend.'

Blossom grabbed Brick's forearm, she could feel his arm jerk in surprise at the contact.

'Oh.' Alex's eyes widened.

'And we're late for a date right now, so..' Blossom motioned behind her to suggest they're going to leave.

'...Are you ok? Wait!'

But they were already gone, walking at a rapid pace towards the exit.

'What do you think you're doing here? ' she snapped at him.

'Already told you.' Brick chuckled.

'How come you didn't go all megalomaniacal superhuman on him? I'm genuinely surprised.' she spat back.

''Hn, you wonder?'

When they were in a safe distance from the crowd he grabbed her and promptly flew her away. When she let her go they were way up high in the sky, the air was blurry, Blossom figured they must be among the clouds.

'I didn't want you to get shat on by the press again. I didn't want to ruin last night for you.' he grinned. 'Me as Brick making a scene would put the spotlight back on you, you deserved a break . But I had to talk to the guy, so I came up with a solution.' he waved his fingers around the moisture around him.

'I needed to talk to him, especially after last night.'

Blossom felt her cheeks getting hot.

'And you though that 'Blossom Utonium gets a boyfriend after getting 3 people murdered is a better headline' '?? she yelled, clenching her fists.

'Better than 'Blossom Utonium gets 4 people murdered'... don't you reckon?' he smirked.

'Couldn't you just wait for him after class to talk to him? Everyone saw it.' she furrowed her brow.

'That's how I wanted it to be. I want everyone to know that you're mine.'

Blossom suddenly felt anger bubbling inside of her.

'I belong to nobody but myself. Why do you feel so entitled to me?'

Brick smiled serenely: ' You're entitled to me, as well. That's just the way it is. We were made for eachother. I can't escape it as much as you can't.'

He got closer to her: 'Don't tell me you didn't feel it last night?' he tucked a strand behind her ear. 'That was the best fucking kiss I've ever had. Nothing compares to it. Imagine more than that'

Blossom's underwear got wet just at the thought.

'I.. I did. ' she said defeatedly.

Brick was baffled at her reply, he wasn't expecting it. Encouraged by it, his left hand snaked around her waist and right one got under her skirt and cupped her buttocks. He started slowly massaging it while playing with the edge of her underwear.

Blossom relented and sank her nails into his back. Her body desperately wanted him move his hand closer to her pussy, his teasing her underwear was driving her insane. Suddenly he removed his hand and she gasped in regret, but he went and placed his thumb above her soaked underwear.

'Fuck, you're the good kind of wet this time.' he muttered, then went in for a kiss. Their mouths were hungry, tongues battling for dominance. This time Blossom relinquished control, her body taking over. She straddled his hand without realising and rubbed her sex on it.

She couldn't take that flimsy piece of cotton between them, she went insane with desire.

His thumb continued massaging above her panties, but then his fingers moved them aside and entered her folds.

She let out a moan and drew him closer.

'Fuck, I want to hear that again.'

His fingers found her clit and he started making small circles with his fingers. His other hand grabbed her by the hair and tilted her head so he could freely nibble at her neck. Blossom couldn't contain her moans under his relentless touch, he spread her lips, inserted one finger into her and started massaging her inner walls.

'Guess we won't be needing any lube. You're soaked. For me.'

She couldn't take it anymore, Blossom felt her heart boom with excitement and a huge electric jolt snapped them both. The sheer force of it separated them, Brick's hand was smoking and hair charged with static.

Blossom was absolutely mortified, she could feel all the memories flooding back. in. They both stared in awe at eachother, when Brick started violently laughing.

Blossom continued staring at him in shock.

'This is so funny!' he managed to say.

'Blossom's eyes narrowed: 'Funny? This is what it is? Am I a fucking joke to you?'

Brick seemed confused, it took a while to understand.

'Are you upset? I was just trying to break the tension.'

'Well, you broke it, alright.' Blossom said, flying away from him.

'No, no, I'm not making fun of you. You got it all wrong.' he followed her.

'Just, just leave me alone.'

She sped up and Brick could only grasp at air.


	15. Nerve

Brick's laugh still rang loudly in her head, she couldn't shake it off.

_'What the hell am I doing? Did I just let him finger me midair?'_ She needed to cool the fuck off. 'did_ I just let my biggest enemy at the moment, the one who killed three kids and turned me into a pariah, finger me midair??_

'Christ_, Blossom, is it that hard? Just don't want to fuck your biggest enemy. How hard can that be? Are you that despicable as a person?'_

She had turned into putty in his hands, like he said. Is it that obvious? Or is it just wishful thinking on his part?

His laugh had hurt her, but she didn't want to admit it to herself. Seeing the embarassing Alex situation repeat managed to hit some nerves.

She flew around for a few hours, hoping the air would clear her head. It hardly did.

She did , eventually, manage to come to terms to her attraction to Brick.

_'I want him. Badly. It doesn't make me morally bankrupt though, does it? It's just my body reacting to him, pure lust, I have no say in it. '_

_'I can want his body and not agree with him. It's normal. Happens to everyone, right?'__' Right.' _she answered to herself, reassuringly. 'But_ what do I do about it..?'_

Later that evening Blossom saw Buttercup leaving her room, nearly healed.

Her sister avoided her gaze, grabbed a snack and isolated herself again.

As the hours passed she found herself unable to sleep yet again. Close to 3 AM she could hear three familiar taps on the window. Her heart skipped a beat as she went to let him in.

He stood midair with his hand propped on the edge of the frame.

'Can I come in?'

'I'm sorry. You know that already. Can we talk? Just talk. '

She let him in and he propped his back on the wall nearby.

'I'm sorry. I know what it's like. It happened to me, too, you know?'

Blossom had no idea what he was talking about.

'The electric shock.' he elaborated. 'During sex. It happened to me, too.'

'Oh.' Blossom muttered, sitting down on the bed. Suddenly flashes of Brick touching an unnamed woman flooded her mind.

'_Touching. Kissing. Fucking. Moaning._ '

'I don't care. It's not happening again.' she crossed her arms.

'Why not?' he asked casually,and sat on the bed next to her. She moved further away.

'Do you even have to ask anymore? Listen, yes, I am attracted to you, but I could never forgive myself if I acted on it.'

Brick groaned. 'Well, at least I know you want me for sure now.' he lounged back on the bed, and crossed his arms behind his head.

'You didn't...? she gasped.

'Haha...well, I was bluffing a bit, of course. Who knows, maybe I implanted the idea in your head.' he winked. 'As for your moral dilemma...you'll realise soon enough how pointless it is to give a shit about humans. I just gotta try smarter.'

'You're bluffing again.' she narrowed her eyes.

He just smiled back at her, closing his eyes.

'So I was saying, I know what it's like. Before you realise... you're having sex with dead bodies. You're lucky yours didn't die. It might have messed up with your head more than it did with mine.'

He sighed. 'Since you actually care about them.'

'So...you had many partners? Blossom said, reluctantly.

'Brick smirked, his eyes still closed.

'Jealous, are we? Ye, I had a few. I tried, anyway. It never got that far. They couldn't handle it.'

'Did they all...die?'

'No, but some did. Some I just managed to hurt badly. They tried to make it work, but it could never be anything more than mediocre.' he said absent-mindedly.

Blossom shifted uncomfortably.

'Is this why you came back to Townsville? Because you thought I'd be a better lay? she said coldly.

This took him out of his reverie, and he turned his gaze towards her.

'I wanted a companion, someone equal to me. I don't mind if she also happens to be a good lay. In fact, I welcome it.' he replied smiling.

'...why me?'

'Well, that's easy. You're my counterpart. We're two sides of the same coin.'

Blossom wasn't convinced.

'But, I wasn't sure until that day at the Maharaja. I knew then. And I chose to think you wanted me, too. I guess you do.' he said, locking his blood red eyes with her pink ones.

Blossom shook her head in confusion, then rose and started pacing the room.

'So I'm supposed to just go along with this? I can understand you lusting after me, that I can understand. But...'partner'? You don't even know me. And the parts that you do know clash with your beliefs and values.' she said, the words rolling rapidly off her tongue.

'No, I don't. But I'm starting to. Also I can make you realise some things that I've learned. You'll change your mind, eventually.' he followed her, grabbing her waist.

'Come with me, let me show you something.'

Blossom was swept away in another long trip, and this time they stopped above the ocean, and she couldn't see any land as far as she looked.

'Ever did deep sea diving?' he smirked at her. 'The pressure can instantly crush your bones into dust, luckily ours are coated with Chemical X.'

They went inside with a big splash, diving was more difficult that flying, but Blossom got the hang of it rapidly. Soon they could see all different kinds of fish, and Brick pointed at something in the distance. They got closer, it was a whale, the redhead convinced her to touch it, it was silky smooth.

They went deeper and could see fewer and fewer fish. The darkness was unbearable, and Blossom could feel herself getting chilly. At this point Brick enveloped her in his arms and continued the descent.

They got to the ocean floor and Blossom was stunned. She could feel Brick's warmth in her back, but the sea seemed so dead, silent and black it looked like a different world altogether. Every now and then she could see a bright light followed by a hideous fish's mouth. Bubbles had told her about these..the anglerfish.

The darkness was getting oppresive, Brick decided to take her in a more familiar depth.

Before they returned to the surface, they took a trip among the coral reef. So many colours and species, Blossom looked amazed at each and every one of them.

As they flied away from the ocean, Brick didn't say a thing, they made it in silence to the outskirts of Townsville .Blossom felt obliged to say:

'That was beautiful. Thanks. You were right..I had never done it before.'

Brick just replied with a half smile.

'Cya later, Pink.' and he vanished.


	16. Lust

The morning after she woke up groggily with Bubbles staring at her face.

'Is it true, Blossom? Are you dating a new guy?' her sister asked as soon as she opened her eyes.

'Hnnnnnngggg...What happened?'she groaned.

'It's all over the news, but, you know, I thought I'd better ask you myself.'

Blossom's thoughts flashed in every direction, thinking about all the possible outcomes. Should she deny everything? should she go along with that narrative?

'It's nothing, Bubbles. Just some... crazy guy that I wanted to appease. I didn't want another fight to start because of me. How could I be dating someone, have you seen me leaving the room?'

She felt horrible for lying, every word made her tongue burn.

'I see.' Bubbles said meekly. 'I just thought you would tell me before I found out from the press...' she whispered, clearly hurt.

Blossom touched her arm reassuringly.:

'I would have told you if I thought if was important, ok?'

'_Liar.__'_

'I wouldn't watch or read anything about it if I were you, Blossom. They get a bit...mean.'

'...Figures.'

Nevertheless she went downstairs and opened the TV and scrolled through to find the local news post.

**'Ted, it's an affront to the victims to be so carefree after an event in which you were closely involved. They cannot go about their day as if nothing happened. The PowerPuff Girls have a responsability to the people to contain these monsters.** **They should be working 24/7 for this.**

_'Working against containing our possibly stronger counterparts that share our powers? I'm sure that's damn easy to figure out. Them being afraid of cooties doesn't seem to help anymore.'_

'Where's the professor?' Blossom asked Bubbles who was fixing herself some breakfast.

'In his lab again. He's kinda been stuck there for a while now.'

'I think I'm going to check up on him.'

Blossom made her way to the basement through all the security systems.

Fingerprints, facial recognition, voice recognition...if it existed, the professor had it protecting his lab. When she got in she noticed the professor sleeping on the experiment table, huge black bags under his eyes. He was startled as she entered, and lazily looked up.

'Ah, it's you, honey. Are you alright?'

'Of course, professor. Are YOU alright, though? You haven't slept in here in ages.'

'Ah, yes. I'm working on something...difficult.' he adjusted his glasses.

'Hn?'

'Something to help you with those boys. I...I failed you so far.'

'Don't say that professor.'

'It's the truth. You shouldn't have gone through that...I'm going to find a solution.' he gritted through his teeth.

Blossom had never seen the professor so angry, so taken with something before. His eyes were bloodshot as he looked at all the papers scattered on the table.

'Professor, you should get some rest first.

You don't look well at all.'

This snapped him out of his thoughts.

'Yes, I suppose. I won't be of use of anyone if my mind is not well rested. Thank you, Blossom. '

She left his laboratory and pondered.

'What_ could he be creating? __I've never seen him like this.'_

As she entered her room she found Buttercup waiting on her bed.

'Is it him?'

Blossom's blood froze.

'Is it him you're dating? Brick?'

'...What..? Blossom muttered.

'Is it him or not?? The other one told me.'

'..told you?'

'Yea, he told me they'd be out of here once you cave in and have sex with him.'

Blossom's eyes glazed over.

'No, I'm not dating him. He's just harassing me everywhere. '

'Wasn't that him yesterday at your college?' she spat.

'It was. I only wanted to create a distraction so he didn't kill anyone. That's why I told everyone he's my boyfriend.'

'Sounds like bullshit to me!'

'..bullshit? Bullshit? How about your meetings with his brother? What are those exactly?'

Buttercup blushed furiously.

'Don't be stupid. We just fight!'

'Why don't you want others to know?'

'Hey, don't turn this against me, we were talking about you!'

'I'm not dating him. That would be insane.'

_Wouldn't it?_

'Ok, good!' Buttercup left and slammed the door shut after her.

Blossom sat on her bed and pondered.

_'He must have told his brothers , of course. And of course he sweet talked me so I would cave in. Slimy, isn't it?' she shook her head._

_' __Did you seriously expect anything else? Actually, why do you even care? You just want to fuck him as well, it shouldn't matter. It's purely a physical thing, raging hormones and the likes.' _she paced around the room.

_'Actually, if this is true it would be beneficial for everyone involved. Is he to be trusted, though?'_


	17. Flesh

The wind brushed through her hair as she sped up across the city. A pang of guilt ate at her, she suspected she had inadvertently caused this fight.

Arriving at the scene she could barely see through the heavy fire and smoke, and the sound of wailing people rang in her ears. Bubbles followed closely behind, both of them terrified of what the next hour had in store for them.

Getting closer to the epicenter, she could see a green dash clashing into a red one violently.

'Oh, this is bad.' she heard Bubbles murmur.

As they got closer, they could see the figures clearly. Buttercup was repeteadly launching towards the red rowdyruff, yelling incomprehensibly, her clothes tattered and bloody. Brick appeared unmoved, dodging most of her attacks while administering the ocasional blow.

'YOU SON OF A BITCH!' Buttercup's eyes widened in anger, her attacks strong, but sloppy, seemingly lit by insanity.

'MY FUCKING SISTER! YOU THOUGHT YOU COULD GET AWAY WITH IT???'

Brick chuckled, vaguely amused, letting her crash in the occasional building as she sprang at him.

'STAY AWAY FROM HER YOU PIECE OF SHIT I'LL KILL YOU!

His calm demeanor enraged her even more, her blows getting quicker and more aggressive.

'You're so much like Butch, it's hilarious. No finesse whatsoever.'

''I'LL FINESSE YOUR ASS YOU CUNT!'

'Oh-uh, looks like your little stunt attracted the others.' he motioned towards Blossom and Bubbles. 'Hn, Butch better take better care of his possessions next time, this might prove to be a slight inconvenience.'

Buttercup looked behind at her sisters, then back at him and mockingly laughed.

'Stealing that idiot's phone was easier than taking ice-cream from a toddler.'

'I'd love to stay and chat, but I've got some errands to run. Stay feisty, this was fun.' he said, turning around and attempting an escape.

'SHIT! DON'T LET THE FUCKER GET AWAY!' Buttercup shouted as she followed the red streak, and her sisters followed suit.

'What the hell were you thinking when you did this?' Blossom yelled, her voice muffled by the wind.

'What did it look like?? Protecting your damn honor!' she replied, focused on the target ahead.

'Protecting my honor? For what? and why alone?'

They were quickly catching up to him, and Buttercup managed to grapple one of his feet, and thus gave her sisters an advantage. Bubbles managed to grab his hands and hold them to his back.

The rowdyruff struggled to break free, punched Buttercup in the jaw and sent her collapsing through the void.

Blossom watched, shocked, unsure of what to do. Ultimately, as she saw Bubbles thrown around like a limp rag,her hands still firmly attached to his back, Blossom closed in on him and encircled him with her arms.

'Hey, pink. I guess your sister is resourceful, well done.' he uttered, his face giving off his alarm. 'Too bad I have one more ace up my sleeve.'

As he was struggling in her embrace, she could feel him getting warm, warmer than usual. She realised something was very wrong, and shrieked at Bubbles:

'LET HIM GO, BUBBLES! NOW!'

They barely managed to break free, when his body was engulfed by red energy and a huge explosion ensued. Blossom could feel her clothes and flesh burning off, the smell making her sick.

She looked down at her arms that had attempted to shield her and could see muscle and tendons being exposed.

'It's fine, you'll heal.' he whispered right before dashing off. Blossom could hear her sister screaming in horror at the sight of her.

'What the fuck happened to you? Where'd he go?' Buttercup cringed seeing their torn bodies as she made her way back at them.

'Fuck! FUCK!'

Blossom watched powerless as her sister flied in circles.

'We managed to overpower him, but he turned himself in some sort of explosion and got away.'

'A fucking explosion? A FUCKING EXPLOSION? Tell me, Blossom, can you do that, because I sure as hell can't do it.'

the circles grew tighter and her pace hastened.

'We have the chemical X, yes? Then why do they have all these special as fuck techniques that I have never heard of in my fucking life of? How about that, eh? A FUCKING EXPLOSION!'

An exhausted sigh escaped from Blossom. 'I wish I could tell you that, I really do.'

She realised her enounciation was messed up_: 'Must be because my lips are gone.'_

Bubbles had begun to cry, it had been years since she gotten so hurt during a battle. The redhead approached her and rest an arm on her intact back.'

'There, there. Shhh... It's fine.'

She shook her hand off and distanced herself from them.

'No! It's not fine! Why can't I just have a normal life? I just wanna work at the shelter! I'm sick of fighting and death! I'm sick of being their playthings!'

Both her sisters were taken aback by this outburst and fell silent for a moment, they weren't sure how to respond.

Eventually, it was Blossom who began the descent back to the city, and the others followed suit. She got closer to the green one and inquired:

'I still don't understand what you were trying to do with him all by yourself. It was very reckless of you.'

'I could take him, until you had to come and ruin everything.'

Blossom refrained from adding anything else, she knew the brunette would snap if she alluded that she wasn't exactly winning.

'What other tehniques does his brother have?'

Buttercup's brow twitched imperceptibly.

'Stuff involving electricity. Do you have that?'

'...No.' 'Are you scared?'

Buttercup snorted, glancing sideways at her sister. 'Yea, implying.'

'She's_ jealous. He's probably mocking him when they fight. Very few people around as proud as BC.'_Their skin had started to mend, they no longer looked like walking corpses.

'_This Chemical X... it's something else. I sometimes forget. '_ she marveled at her hands.

They got closer and closer to where the fight started, Blossom could tell by the sound of police sirens. Some buildings were still on fire, and she asked her sisters to help contain it.

The redhead used her freezing breath to quench the flames, the firemen looked at her in awe as she finished their job with almost insulting ease.

A lot of the buildings in the are were ruined, she could see multiple crates where her sister had crashed.

'_A lot of people__ live here._ _Maybe some were hurt. All of this just because BC wants to protect 'my honor'. These people really are slaves to our whims.'_

Blossom locked eyes with a child, it broke her heart when all she could see there was fear.


	18. Skill

Her skin was still raw, like she had sat in a tanning bed for far too long. It still had a bit more healing to do.

She pricked her finger with a needle on her desk and watched a single drop forming before the wound healed.

'I_ really take this for granted sometimes. But how can you not when it's everything you've ever known?'_Blossom was waiting, she suspected she'd hear the three familiar taps tonight.

'I_ don't think he can help himself after the Buttercup incident.'_From what she had gathered, BC managed to steal Butch's phone and test Brick to meet 'him' at an abandoned warehouse. The encounter quickly grew larger than that and enveloped a big part of that neighborhood.

_'At this rate the whole Townsville is getting destroyed. They're so much stronger than us, as well. They've probably spent all these years honing their skills._'

_'What was Buttercup thinking? We barely managed to subdue Butch together..'_

She remembered how he dodged BC's attacks and unwillingly felt some sense of admiration. His movements were fluid, unstrained.

He seemed to put little effort in pinning her on the wall as well, her wrists felt delicate in his grip. Blossom touched them, feeling the phantom of his grasp as a blush creeped on her face.

She was right, three taps were heard on her window, and Blossom hurried to open it.

He looked disheveled, unlike his usual self, his mane was unruly, resting on his back. He didn't have a shirt on tonight, and the moon illuminated the contours of his torso. It's how she expected him to look, lean, wiry, lacking the buff aesthetic of his green brother. Brick made his way in, getting closer to her.

'Hasty, are we? I think you were expecting me tonight. '

The pool of hair was distracting, no more than the muscles coiling beneath it. Before she realised, Blossom had her back to the wall, and the curtain of his hair covered them both as he leaned in.

'What was your sister saying? That I 'ruined your dignity'? What exactly did she mean by that? What exactly did you tell her?'

In spite of his proximity, Blossom felt her cheeks blush not with embarassment, but anger.

'What did *I* tell her?? More like, what did your retarded brother tell her. Or more exactly, what did YOU tell him.'

His brow furrowed, he seemed genuinely bewildered.

Blossom could feel anger bubbling:

'Can you cut the crap, please? I usually appreciate honesty. You can keep the 'we're meant to be' mantra for stupider women and just be straightforward about what you really want. Could save us some time and resources and MAYBE the whole city wouldn't get trashed!'

Brick narrowed his eyes and with his right hand raised her chin ever so softly.

'What are you saying? Do you think I'd go though all this trouble for a lay?'

Blossom's anger turned to fear as she met his darkened gaze.

He closed in the space between them, Brick's kiss was rough, she resisted at first but then his tongue made his way past her lips as their teeth clashed. Blossom tasted sweat that mixed with her blood as he bit into her lip.

The thin pyjamas she had on top felt flimsy as his body nailed hers on the wall, so he hasitly took her top off. He grabbed her arms and pined them above her head once again.

'Fuck, Blossom, you should see yourself.'

Her chest was heaving, her breasts moving in the rhytm of her breath and the excitement made her nipples perk up.

His hand grabbed one of them and starting playing with it.

Brick got even closer and looked into her eyes.

'Do you feel that, down there?' he motioned down.

She nodded and swallowed nervously. His bulge was huge, she could feel it on her stomach.

'Im going insane right now. I could have you right here and now...but I won't.'

He let her go and turned his back on her as he remained stuck on the wall, shell-shocked. Brick glanced back, half-smiling.

'To prove you wrong, of course.'

Blossom's eyes widened in realisation, quickly grabbed her top from the floor as she felt exposed. She was ready to shout at him when she realised the place and time. She motioned towards the window, trying to keep her anger in check.

'Let's take this outside.'

A flicker of amusement lit in his eyes. ''As you wish, pink.'

When they were a safe way from home, miles above the city, Blossom turned around and punched him in his cheek.

'You fucking ASSHOLE! Stop toying with me, I'm sick of your stupid games.'

Bricked laughed, wiping the blood off.

'You brought this upon yourself, since you entertained the opinion of idiots.'

'While we're here, wanna learn a trick?' he quickly added.

'A trick?'

'Yea, a trick. You've probably noticed we're better and stronger than you. Why do you think that is?'

Blossom sighed. 'Unlike us, you've probably spent the last years training.'

'That, but we also tapped into chemical X in ways you wouldn't suspect. You have no idea, pinkie.'

'Want me to show you how to do what I did yesterday to lose your track?'

Blossom's jaw dropped, she wasn't expecting for him to share his techniques.

'Don't worry, I've got other tricks, too, that I'll keep for myself. Can't afford you becoming too overpowering.'

'Um, yeah, thanks... sure.'

He came closer and stuck himself to her back, mirroring her position. His hands grabbed hers, and she could feel his skin getting progressively hotter.

'Is this necessary? You being this close?'

'Yes.'

'_No__, it's not.'_

_'He smells of grass, dirt and sweat..He's probably been training all day. '_

'Do you feel that? It's chemical X boiling up. You have to focus, it takes a while at first. The trickiest part is willing it into it, and then maybe controlling the explosion to be as big as you wish it.

Blossom nodded._'_Close your eyes,concentrate, feel it flowing through your veins.'

He interlocked their fingers and stuck them both in an embrace. Blossom shuddered, she had never been this intimate with a man. Alex's embraces were childish, tentative.

'You're thinking about something else.' she could feel his smirk with her eyes closed. 'Focus on the power inside you, it's in your reach, concentrate.'

'I've never thought about my powers like this before, I just used them.

'That's why you're weak. If you learn to consciously control it, you'll start seeing endless possibilities.'

Blossom could feel a flicker inside of her, steadily growing. She felt her skin getting warmer, but panicked and stopped.

'You were doing well. You need to stop panicking, it can't hurt you.' he nibbled at her ear, then moved down to her neck.

Blossom moaned, his touch had hit a nerve, she could feel warmth pooling up in her sex.

'We're done for today, you can practice alone some other time.' He broke the embrace. ''I'll see you around.'

Once again, Blossom found herself alone and confused midair.

_'Why bother fighting it at this point, Blossom? His grip is tight on you.'_


	19. Fear

Hey, everyone! Since I'm quarantined these days, I can get a bit of writing done. Would really appreciate a review, they really keep me going!

XOXO

* * *

That morning the professor asked them all to join him in his laboratory. He looked even more haggard and preoccupied than he did in the last few weeks.

'Buttercup, I am sorry to tell you this, but you've made a mistake. Luring one of the Rowdyruffs with no backup and in the middle of a neighborhood has worsened our situation tenfolds. You've ruined that area, many people lost their home in the fire you caused.'

He paused, waiting for her response. It never came, Buttercup had lowered her head and clenched her fists.

'The mayor has been asking me to do a press release with you. Everyone is angry, and rightfully so, the pressure has been building for some time. Luckily the public did not realise you started the altercation yesterday. However, we can't postpone it anymore, we might risk a riot among the people. I know you all find the idea deeply uncomfortable, but it can't be helped anymore.'

Blossom shifted uncomfortably, her heart sank at the thought of finally facing the crowd.

'What should we say? What do they want to hear?'

The professor sighed: ' I think they should know we're working on a solution, that we're deeply sorry for what has transpired so far and that we will take precautions that a similar situation doesn't take place again.'

Blossom cocked her head at him:

'...and you are close to a solution, professor?'

'I need more time. I've only recently realised that I can't solve this problem without putting you in some danger, as well. The solution will end up being as effective against you as against them. It's can't be done otherwise, I'm sorry to say.'

'I see. What might it be, professor?'

'I call it Antidote X. It works as a counter for Chemical X, turns a Chemical X user into a normal human being. I would appreciate if you wouldn't share this information with anyone.'

Blossom's stomach retched at the thought, she couldn't help it. She could feel the chemical rumbling with displeasure in her veins at the mere mention, and noticed her green sister fuming next to her.

'You want us to use it on them ?' Bubbles timidly asked.

'Yes, you would have to inject it. There needs to be a sufficient quantity in the recipient's body for it to work. I hope.'

'My experiments on bacteria haven't been conclusive so far, but I'm certain I'm getting there.'

Buttercup erupted:

'Antidote X?? PROFESSOR, ARE YOU INSANE? How can you create something that can destroy us just like that?'she snapped her fingers. 'What if it gets in the wrong hands?'

'It won't. I'm working alone, as usual. I don't want anyone to know the true nature of the weapon I'm creating. As you suspect by now, we have been able to live a fairly eventless ,undisturbed life because of the nature of your powers.' he rose from his chair and absentmindedly grabbed one of the Petri dishes.

'You're not stupid. I hope you've realised that the only reason why the authorities haven't bothered us along the years is because they know you're a force to be reckoned with. They've asked me many times to let them analyse you and your blood, but I wouldn't permit it. You'd end up spending the rest of your lives as lab rats and I couldn't allow that. They couldn't force you to do it because they knew you could burn the world to the ground if you wanted to.'

'To answer your question, I've turned it on all sides in my head, Buttercup.' his jaw tensed up.' If there was some other way I wouldn't have resorted to this.'

_'What is this sensation in me? What's wrong?'_

Blossom could feel every one of her cells collapsing into itself, dread taking over.

'Blossom, are you fine? You look like you've seen a ghost.'

'Yes, professor, I'm fine.I just have to lie down for a bit until it's time to leave.'

_''This Antidote X...what if we do get exposed to it? Isn't normality what I yearned for in the last decade of my life? We could lead average, simple lives. Then why do I feel such dread?'_

This dominated her thoughts so much, that before she knew it she was in the city hall, with the press and the mayor waiting for their speech. At his right was Miss Bellum, as glamorous as ever.

'Girls, are you ready? I've counted so many times on you in the past and you never failed us. I wholeheartedly trust you will protect us now as well.'

Blossom nodded.

'A few ups and downs, but it's normal, yes? Keep your chin up, things have a way of working themselves out!'

'_That's__ a fine example of wishful thinking.' _Blossom pondered. _'I wonder how much of it is a façade tho.'_

'Is this mic on? ah, yes, it is. People of Townsville, we are gathered here with our saviors, the Powerpuff Girls and their father, professor Utonium. They are here to answer your questions. So far we can tell you that the professor is tirelessly working on a weapon that can tackle the threat. As per usual, you are asked to inform us of every sighting of the Rowdyruff boys so we can minimise the damage. At the moment this threat can only be contained by the girls, not wholly eliminated. We ask you again to leave the area where you see a fight happening in order to avoid casualties. If your house is destroyed we can offer you food and shelter until your home is back to its original state.'

'We can take questions now. One at the time please.'

A lot of hands were raised and general commotion ensued. The mayor picked the closest journalist, a nervous looking man in his 50s.

'I would like to ask the Utonium sisters a question. 'he adjusted his glasses ' Why have you avoided the press until now? We have made multiple requests to address you and you have refused them all?'

Blossom was at a loss, but before she could utter anything at all, the professor grabbed the microphone.

'We would have been open to a civilised conversation, but it wasn't the case. Other questions?'

The mayor picked a well dressed woman nearby: 'How long do you expect this situation to last? How long before the weapon is created, professor?'

'I can't tell you for sure, but I am making steady progress. It is an intricate process and we ask for your patience and collaboration in these trying times.'

'Miss Utonium, you have been spotted in the Townsville college campus with a new boyfriend, do you think it's appropriate during this crisis?' a man yelled in the back.

The professor attempted to shut down his question, but Blossom gave him a reassuring look and grabbed the microphone. She looked around, and tentatively began to speak:

'I'm deeply sor...I feel ashamed for being involved in the events from the last few weeks.'

We couldn't stop your families from getting hurt, even though it's our job to do it. With the help of professor's weapon, we promise to keep you safe from now on.'

She cleared her throat:

'As for my personal life...I do not think the subject should be discussed in the press. Thank you.'

The camera flashes blinded her, and she wondered if **he's** watching this right now.

_'Probably plotting his next move. Why am I thinking about him right now? Would he try to kill me if he knew I'm planning to stab him with Antidote X? Would??You know he wouldn't hesitate.'_

Her reverie was broken by a colorfully dressed journalist coming closer to the stage, waving his arms:

'Nobody here has the guts to say it, ,but y'all a pest on Townsville! A fucking pest! Everyone's too afraid to say it, but not me!! You bitches can kill me right now, I don't care! Fry me to death for all I care! I either die or your hand or the bastards', it's all the same!!!'

The security guards intercepted him, the professor grabbed the mic and sharply ended the discourse: ' Thank you for your time, everyone.'

As they walked out, the redhead could feel Bubbles taking her hand reassuringly, her soft fingers interlocking with her own.


	20. Lesson

Thanks a lot for the review! I tried to make the story more gritty and realistic, so it made sense to be they would be somehow ostracized for their powers. He's hoping you like where I'm taking it hehe.

XOXO

* * *

Her whole body was shaking as she attemped it once again. Every muscle twitched as she felt the fire from within warming up her limbs. Her skin was getting hotter and hotter in anticipation of the explosion, but, once again, she could feel the barrier rising and the fire dying down.

_'What am I doing wrong? It seemed so damn easy when I saw him doing it. Third day of training and still nothing.'_

She called it a day, the exhaustion had really gotten to her this time, her body felt tense as she flew back home.

A week had passed from that dreaded conference, and he still hadn't attempted to contact her.

_'Maybe he's tilted that I promised to destroy them. Could be scared of the weapon?'_

She felt a painful spasm in her left shoulder.

_'Maybe he decided to leave the city for good? Could be too much of a hassle for them. It's the best possible scenario.'_

It was very late, but she'd lost most of her sense of time since she didn't go to college anymore. The night was calmer, less chances of stumbling into a random reporter.

As she curled into her bed, she could feel a crumpled piece of paper under her pillow. She smoothed it out and tried to make out the jagged handwriting:

'**Your house is being surveilled at night now.**

**I barely slipped in unnoticed to leave you this note.**

**Come meet me in our special icy place this morning at 4AM. Alone.**

**Your phone is probably surveilled as well, leave it at home.**

**Be careful, don't get followed.'**

Blossom's heart was booming as she hastily checked the time: 2:30 AM.

_'Special icy place? The mountain top. I can make it in time.'_

She had never thought it was necessary to scan her surroundings for surveillance until now. Her eyes widened as her enhanced vision activated. She could see two FBI agents about 25 meters away in a car and a few cameras scattered in the trees so that their comings and goings would be recorded. Blossom observed their range and could quickly tell what their blindspots were. if she would go through the skylight, crawl on the roof and then stay stuck to the eastern wall she would make it out unnoticed.

'I'm_ doing it, and not even batting an eye' _she thought while crawling on the roof_. 'Imagine the reporters seeing this, Blossom. Or worse, the professor.'_

As she got closer to their meeting place, she absentmindedly found herself grooming her clothes and wondering whether she should let her hair loose or not.

_'Snap out of it, Blossom. Why don't you put on some lipstick while you're at it?? It's not a date_. NOT a date. Who knows what kind of hostages he might hold. I can't allow that to happen.'

Of course, she knew there weren't any hostages.

She found him laying on his back in the middle of the plateau, looking at the stars.

'You're early. 3:45.' He motioned towards his watch.

'Yeah, well, I tried my best to make it in time.' she fidgeted. 'Why did you call me here?'

'We haven't seen eachother in a week. I can't risk you forgetting about me.'

'Why? Were you expecting some big showdown? Now that you've publicly threatened me?'

He got closer to her, slowly floating across the plateau.

'Aren't you scared at all? What if I kill you?

'Could you, Blossom? Do you have it in you to do it?' his voice got softer.

'I will if you give me no choice.'

'There's no such thing as 'no choice'.' he got even closer, so close Blossom could feel his breath on her neck.

'You're just blind to the possibilities. I wish I could lend you my eyes for a while.'

His fingertips grazed her shoulders.

'Goosebumps.' he said letting his hands brush over her arms. 'I still can't get over how easily I can affect you.'

'Really?' Blossom had had enough of his patronizing. Everything she had bottled up in the last weeks started bubbling under the surface. A small voice in the back of her head warned her that she's about to regret what she was going to do.

_'Just this time.' _she thought as she grabbed him by the t-shirt and snapped:

'You've been toying with me for too long. You're not the only one doing the affecting here. '

She pushed him into a rock nearby, his body slamming against it.

'If anything, you're the one losing his mind over me for the last month, so stop acting like you're the one in control here. ' she whispered.

Brick's eyes widened, he wasn't expecting this. What followed he expected even less.

Blossom's mouth hungrily grabbed his as she pinned him in place. One of her hands travelled down, grabbing his bulge.

'Pathetic.' she said, running her fingers across his trousers.

A confused smile appeared on Brick's face , he quickly adapted to her movements and restrained her against the wall instead.

'Nice moves. Who taught you that?'

Before she could answer, her lips were entangled by his and she could feel his rough hands roaming across her body. Her top was lifted and before she knew it he was licking and sucking on her breasts. She grabbed on his hair, loosening his ponytail in the process, a curtain of red now covering them both.

'God, Blossom, I can't..'

He fumbled with his pants finally managing to undo his zipper.

His erection sprang out, and he looked at her darkly, waiting for her reaction.

'Are you scared?'

Blossom shook her head as their feverish kisses continued. Quickly, her pants and underwear were down, and drops of moisture dripped over her thighs. She could feel a gaping hole growing inside her as the kisses deepened.

Blossom stopped, gave him a knowing look, but even in this moment she couldn't completely throw caution out of window.

'Condom.'

'Sure, I have one.'

She felt some sort of timidity in his voice, and it surprised her.

'Are you sure about this?' he asked, rolling it across his length.

'Yes.'

He grabbed her thighs like she was weightless and propped her back against the wall. Brick positioned himself between her legs, and guided his cock between her folds. She gasped as she didn't expect him to stretch her this much , a small whimper of pain escaped her lips.

'Shhh, I'll be careful.'

He pumped into her slowly as she adjusted to his girth. Her fingers dug into his t-shirt as he continued his assault.

'Your pussy is so damn good, can I go a bit faster?'

Blossom nodded as he caught her lips in another kiss. He sped up, each pump making her whole body shake.

'Fuck, you really love this. You look like such a slut.' Brick said staring at her wide open mouth and flushed face.

_'Slut. Slut. Whore.'_

His hands spread her cheeks as he went faster and harder, each stroke hitting her deep.

Her ass clapped against his hips with each thrust, the sound driving Blossom insane. She could feel her juices wetting his hips everytime their bodies connected.

Brick nibbled at her neck at his pumps became agonisingly slow, Blossom attempting to meet her hips with his own.

'Eager, are we?'

Each stroke massaged her inner walls, and she felt warmth pooling in her sex, quickly enveloping the rest of her body.

'Faster, please!'

He complied, each one of his pumps was now followed by her moans.

Her chest and face were growing redder, her skin was getting hotter and suddenly she found herself destroying her mental wall as her orgasm came with a huge explosion.

Brick was launched 10 feet away, all of his skin burnt off and a good part the deeper tissues as well. Blossom panicked and launched at his side, the smell of his searing flesh filled her nostrils.

She found him laughing, once again, a grotesque view since he lacked most of his eyelids or lips.

This time Blossom could see the ridiculousness of it all and joined him, her hysterical laughter cutting through the silence of the plateau.

When they were done she took a sideways look at his battered body.

'At least I finally managed to get an explosion going.'

'Ah, first time?' he motioned towards himself. 'A good first time, red.'

She raised her eyebrow.

'Red?'

'Yeah, Red. Since you're officially mine now.' he said matter-of-factly.

'You know this doesn't mean anything, right? We're just two horny teenagers.'

'Right.' he replied, removing pieces of burnt hair and attempting to gather what remained of it in a hasty ponytail.

'Yes, right. I'm not all of a sudden 'your partner' just because I gave into my hormones for one moment.

'I would squint at you if I could, but you robbed me of eyelids.' 'Wait, you think this is just a one time thing?'

Blossom failed to answer, instead fidgeted with his hair tie.

'Oh..you did. Hilarious.'

His playful tone had taken a darker turn as he yanked the hair tie out of her hands.

'If I knew this was the case, I would have made sure to come myself. But we both know you're full of shit. '

'Little miss Goodie-Two-Shoes who wants every human to be safe, and pleads for forgiveness on TV. ' he approached her menacingly.

'But fucks her biggest 'enemy' on the top of the world when nobody's watching.'

'I'm sure that's how things are supposed to be.' he said, his voice full of bitterness.

'Hypocrisy should never go unpunished. I'm starting to think I have better values than you do.' he said, clenching his fist and flying away.

Standing alone on the plateau, Blossom's eyes welled up and she broke down with deep sobs.


	21. Payback

TW: this chapter has quite a bit of violence in it, so if you know you're squeamish ,skip the latter half of the chapter.

Would appreciate some feedback! Where do you think the story is going?

* * *

_'He's entirely right. I'm disgusting. A hypocrite.'__'Why did I do it, did any part of me expect this to end right?'_

'She could remember how it felt to have him inside her, she was still sore. Blossom could only feel waves of arousal at the thought.

_'Rotten to the core, he's right.'_

She made her way back home and sneaked in, it was morning already; she could head Bubbles busying herself in the kitchen.

Blossom crawled into bed, hoping nobody had noticed. Soon she heard taps on her door and saw Bubbles head in the doorframe.

'Hey, good morning. I thought I heard you waking up..Want some breakfast?'

'No, Bubbles, I'm fine, I'll get some myself later.'

'...um, are you ok? You look pretty bad.'

Blossom was ready to protest, when the blonde gave her an understanding look and said:

' I told you before, you can tell me anything.

Blossom could feel her eyes welling up.

'Actually, Bubbles, I'm not fine. I'm not fine at all.'

Bubbles joined her on the bed and caressed her back.

'Shh...'

'Is this because of Brick?' Bubbles said sheepishly.

Blossom was stunned, she turned her gaze in horror towards Bubbles who seemed as calm as ever.

'Wh-what do you mean?'

'I know something's been happening between the two of you. Even before the whole Buttercup ordeal. I'm not sure what BC knows anyway, you know how she is.'

'How?'

'I saw him coming one night to you. You seemed...close.'

'Why didn't you tell me anything?'

'I was hoping you would at some point.'

'I'm sorry, Bubbles...I couldn't. It's so very wrong.' Blossom's tears mixed with snot, she attempted to grab the box of tissues nearby.

'You know I don't judge... What happened, Blossom? Can you tell me now?'

'I-I'm a hypocrite, Bubbles.' 'I should be fighting him, trying to destroy him at all costs...' she dropped her gaze to the ground. 'I slept with him tonight.'

'Oh, I see.'

Nobody said anything for a while, Bubbles kept running her fingers across her back reassuringly.

'What do you want to do now?'

Blossom laughed darkly:

'What kind of question is that? How about 'are you insane?''

Bubbles rubbed her hands together and smiled:

'You know I wouldn't ask you that.'

Blossom wiped the remaining tears off her cheeks, her countenance changing.

'I don't know what to do, Bubbles. He called me a hypocrite because I slept with him yet I don't want to be his partner. He was livid. I feel like whatever choice I do make the outcome is going to be bad. There's no winning.'

'I don't know what to tell you...do you think we should maybe ask the professor, Blossom?'

The redhead retched at the suggestion and shook her head in dismay:

'NO! No! no!'

She was interrupted by the sound of **the **phone ringing. Her heart sank. '_What__ if..?'_

Bubbles rushed to answer, her face was drained of color as the conversation progressed.

'It's Brick. He's on campus with his brothers.'

_'oh, god, oh no, please no.'_

'He's holding hostages again and asking for you.'

'He's saying he will kill everyone on campus if you don't come.'

'We need to go.' Bubbles muttered to herself. She then grabbed her sister's face between her palms:

' We need to go now. You're Blossom Utonium, my big sister. Get it together. I'll get Buttercup.'

Somehow, in a haze, Blossom picked herself up and the three of them arrived at the campus.

They could see from afar that Brick was hovering above everyone, holding someone in his hand. On his right Boomer and Butch held maybe 10 people each, a crowd in each of their arms, swaying in the wind.

When they got close enough, Blossom could tell who was in Brick's grasp. It was Alex and he seemed terrified, begging for his life.

The crowds dangling from the other brothers' feet and arms was yelling in despair, men, women and children alike. If any of them slipped, they were looking at 500 feet of freefalling.

Police and press alike was gathered on the ground, watching, waiting.

'Hey, Red, you're here. Didn't know you were coming.' his skin had mostly healed, with the exception of a few raw patches on his face. This made his eyes more proeminent than ever, shining red with malicious glee.

'If I knew you'd come, I might have worn fresh clothes. These ones still smell of you.' he said, taking a whiff at his t shirt.

'What THE. FUCK. is he saying, Blossom?' Buttercup roared.

He dismissed her with a hand gesture:

'Talking shit as usual, don't worry.'

'YOU BASTARD. I'LL KILL YOU.'

'Ntz, ntz. Nobody's dying today, well, maybe someone is.' he motioned towards Alex.

'PLEASE, NO! My family is rich, they'll give you everything you ask. Everything!'

Brick gave him a quizzical look:

'You... think I want money. What could I possibly want to do with money? Do you even see what I'm doing right now?'

'Please, please! I will do anything you want!' he wailed, his very expensive shirt getting soaked with tears.

'Pathetic. Weak. I'd be ashamed if I were you.' he motioned towards Blossom.

'Hey, Brick, how long do you think this is gonna take? My ears hurt from their damn screeching!' Butch chimed in. 'Hey, gorgeous.' he mimicked a kiss towards Buttercup.

'Anytime now.' He grabbed Alex by the neck like he was a baby kitten.

'You're gonna watch this. If you do anything my brothers will kill the others. You can't look away. I told you that hypocrisy doesn't go unpunished.'

'Brick, NO...'

SNAP! and a yell. Fresh blood was flowing out of Alex's right forearm.

SNAP! Blood now was squirting from a fracture on his left leg.

SNAP!

SNAP! 'OH, GOD, NO, PLEASE NO MORE!'

SNAP!

Brick's face was now splattered, his devilish eyes being now complimented by a perverse ear-to-ear smile.

'BRICK ...!'

SNAP! Bones were now protruding from each limb, their jagged ends pierceing the skin.

'You're forgetting who I am, Red.'

SNAP! Finally, he crushed his neck, let his limp body collapse and flew away.

As soon as his brother left, Butch shook the people off like a wet dog and flew away unbothered. Bubbles and Buttercup went after the scattered people. This left Boomer with Blossom, looking at eachother in confusion.

'I don't want to kill them, I'll take them myself to the ground. Just promise you'll let me go.'

Blossom nodded, still in shock.

'Are you ok?' He asked as they carefully flew downwards.

'I don't know what you did to him, but I've never seen him so pissed. He's never gone so far as to torture someone until now, that's Butch's domain.

Blossom could only nod.

'I'm sorry it had to be like this. He gets these fixed ideas and...' Boomer bowed his head.

'Can you help?' her voice sounded empty.

'You're reading me wrong, I'm not your friend. I just... don't like all of this.'

He left the crowd safely on the grass, and soon BC and Bubbles joined them.

'She promised you'll let me go if I landed everyone safely.' he pointed at Blossom, and she bowed her head in agreement.

'Hey, Bubbles.' he added, innocently grinning at the blonde.

'Stay safe until next time.' he waved and then dashed off.


	22. Guilt

Thank you for the reviews, everyone! I wanted to mention that English is not my first language, so do forgive me if I happen to use some words inappropriately.

The guest user Itzem mentioned that the lyrics of the song 'Become the Beast' by Karliene fit the plot. Thanks, they do, indeed! I appreciate it!

XOXO

* * *

She approached Alex's mangled remains, his body even more broken by the fall. Emergency doctors and police surrounded him, the atmosphere was hectic as the survivors were being calmed down and questioned by the police.

'_No, this isn't happening..This isn't real.'_

She knelt next to him, Blossom could barely tell it was Alex under those wounds and all that blood.

_''So much blood.'_

'I_ killed him.'_

_'I killed him.'_

_'I killed him.'_

She felt a hand resting on her shoulder, beckoning her to rise.

'Blossom, we should go. Nothing to do here anymore.' Bubbles muttered, looking around anxiously.

She nodded in a agreement and as she stepped away Blossom was blinded by an endless stream of flash photography.

'Have some fucking respect, will you?' she heard Buttercup growling. 'Can't you stop with the damn photos for just one minute, you disgusting hienas?' she spat on the ground, giving them one more menacing look before dragging both her sisters out there in a flash of green.

'That was some sick shit, Blossom. SICK SHIT!' Buttercup barked as she rubbed her eyes in frustration, the images burned into her retina.

'Can you tell me what the fuck was that about? What was he saying earlier?' she cried, stopping midair and grabbing her sister by the shoulders.

Blossom stared back into her sister's green orbs, and now was directly confronted with the desperation in Buttercup's eyes.

'It's...my fault. Alex died because of me.' she said flatly, the words escapig her lips so easily.

Buttercup's eyes slanted in exasperation and then shook her sister one more time.

''Why? Tell me everything!'

'He did it to punish me for not wanting to join him.'

'How is that your fault? He'a a fucking psychopath, you can't control that shit!'

Buttercup hissed.

'I had sex with him, Buttercup.' 'Consensually. ' she added, her dead voice ringing in Buttercup's head.

'Buttercup's eyes widened in realisation and her grip on her sister's shoulders loosened.

'No.' she murmured under her breath.

'I'm sorry.'

'He was right.' Buttercup continued to shake her head, and then she grabbed handfulls of her hair and yelled:

'FUUUUUUUCKK!' 'How could you?' her eyes fit up, and Bubbles restrained her so she wouldn't do anything rash.

'Don't tell me, you're in on it, too?' Buttercup struggled against her sister's grip before escaping and landing a punch in the redhead's cheek.

Blossom didn't even attempt to retaliate, just stared at her blankly as Buttercup continued her assault on her body. Soon the pink puff's face was disfigured, bloody and she could hear Bubbles' shrieks between the hits.

The attack stopped as fast as it had begun, Buttercup staring at her shaking, blood-stained hands.

'How long?'

'Once.' Blossom answered defeatedly. 'Just once.'

'I don't understand. Why?' Buttercup still focused on her hands, blood trickling off them slowly.

'I don't know.' 'I gave in.' she replied, pain beginning to kick in from her sister's blows. 'I was...impulsive. '

'You're never impulsive.' 'You're supposed to be the least impulsive of us.'

Blossom looked down, failing to answer.

'I need to fix this.' she added after what seemed like forever, and turned around in the direction of their house.

'I can't aford anyone else dying. I can't. I just can't.' Her tone was determined, her countenance slowly returning to the usual Blossom.

'I'll do whatever it takes.' A plan began to take form in her mind, her previously fractured ideas tying together.

'What the fuck are you saying?' You're not making any sense.'

'I need you to trust me on this one. I'll tell you once I have everything fingured out. Don't tell the professor anything, he wouldn't agree to it. '

'Blossom, you're scaring me.' Bubbles chimed in.

As they got home, press had already surrounded every inch around their property. Blossom went straight to the professor's laboratory, quickly disabling the defenses, and found him surprised at their sudden arrival.

'Girls, I wasn't.. ' The professor was in his lab attire, holding a tray of vials in his hand.

'How long until you're done with Antidote X?' Blossom interrupted him.

'Three weeks, maybe a month. Why?'

'What's wrong with your face?'

She left in a whirl, as quickly as she came, leaving the professor dumbfounded.

Blossom dragged her sisters back in the middle of the sky, tightly grasping their hands.

A fierce look of determination had appeared on her face, her sister recognised it from their early days of fighting.

'Antidote X is done in a month. We've got one month to kill until we can destroy them.' she took a deep breath. 'I'm leaving you for a month.'

'Wait... what the fuck are you talking about?' Buttercup narrowed her eyes, crossing her arms together.

'I'm going with him, with Brick. It's the only way I can prevent people from dying in this timeframe.' she said as-a-matter-of-factly.

'Are you out of your mind, Blossom?' the fiery brunette hissed, grinding her teeth in annoyance.

'I haven't been so clear-minded in a long, long time. He wants me. It's the only solution.'

'How can you sprout such bullshit? We can wait till the serum is done and then we'll kick their asses!'

'And how many people are going to die meanwhile? What if it's your friends next? You've seen they don't care about human life.'

'And how can you know it's gonna stop if you join them, eh?'

'I'll lure them out of Townsville for a month. When I'm back the serum will be done.'

'This is INSANE. INSANE, I tell you. You've lost your marbles, Blossom.'

'I think it makes sense.' a small voice could be heard, and they both turned to Bubbles to hear her speak.

'I don't want to see more people dying. Are you sure you can last that long with them, Blossom?'

Blossom's image of Brick had twisted and warped, now she could only see his blood-soaked face holding Alex's body, taunting her.

'I hope. I have to.'

'I can't believe you're agreeing to her suicidal mission. Unless she's lying and ACTUALLY wants to join that fucking psychopath.' Buttercup groaned, flying rounds between the two of them.

'Do you have a better idea?' Bubbles cocked an eyebrow at her sister. 'No? then it's settled. Do what you have to do, Blossom.' she said as she flied downwards towards their home, Blossom following closely behind.


	23. Decisions

'Ok, let's go over it again.'

Her sisters sighed, Blossom could really be pedantic at time. They stood in a triangle looking down on Townsville. The last two days had been rough, they couldn't leave the house without being endlessly harassed by the press.

Buttercup yawned, they had been over it a couple of times already.

'Next time they attack, you trade yourself for the hostage or hostages. Me and Bubbles are supposed to put up a fight, act shocked at your act of martyrdom...not like that's gonna be hard. she muttered under her breath.'

'Then what?'

'We tell the professor your plan after you've left and wait for the serum. When you return we corner them and stick them with it.'

'If I don't return?' Blossom inquired.

'Check our phones and social media daily for any messages.' Bubbles continues.

'If they don't attack and he looks for me privately?' she mentally checked that one off the list.

'You'll leave without a fuss, leaving the tracking device on the table so we know that you've gone with him.'

'What if Butch looks for you first?'

Buttercup had finally told them about her meetings with the green ruff. She would sometimes get a text from unknown numbers naming her a location and an hour. She would go there and fight him until they were both bruised and broken.

'You never asked us to join.' Blossom had chastised her.

'It's just fighting, ok? Fighting, we're supposed to be fighting them. It doesn't compare to fucking him behind our backs, does it?' she had snapped.

'You fought him for fun...' Bubbles intervened.

Buttercup had seemed more exasperated by the minute.

'Fighting IS NOT fucking, why are you riding my back about this?' she had said, gesturing theatrically in the air.

'What if Butch looks for you first, Buttercup? Blossom asked again, snapping her fingers in front of her face to attract her attention.

'I go and fight him as usual. Would be suspicious if I didn't.' she replied, bouncing back from her thoughts.

She seemed pleased with their answers.

_'This better work.'_

In the last two days she had been so plagued with images of Alex's body, she couldn't sleep at all. Each time she closed her eyes the snapping of his bones rang in her ears, making sure she couldn't rest.

When she wasn't haunted by the massacre, Brick's memory mocked her. How exquisite his touch had felt and how dearly she had to pay for it.

'Aren't you scared, Blossom? Bubbles asked timidly.

'What kind of question is that?' she replied with a dark smile. 'You know I am.'

* * *

They were seething with anxiety when at the three day mark the phone finally rang.

Blossom hugged her sisters tightly before leaving,not knowing what the encounter had in store for them. This time their counterparts had chosen a very crowded area downtown.

When they got there, Brick was propped on a tall building nearby, their brothers next to him. Strangely, no hostages were taken, The police, paramedic and press was standing at a close distance, anticipating another fatality.

As they got closer, Blossom thought he looked more haggard than usual, a shadow of stubble on his face. As he noticed their approach, they flew closer to meet then halfway.

She expected some sort of speech, but Brick just dashed and slammed her into the closest building. His brothers followed suit, each one going after their counterpart.

Butch and Buttercup had started their usual bludeogening, green stripes almost forming a vortex in their pursuit.

Boomer had whisked Bubbles away, holding her tightly as he flew above Townsville.

Brick had seemed keen to cause as much damage as possible, steering Blossom to crash in whatever building he could.

'This city needs revamping, don't you think?' he chuckled sardonically.

'Brick, stop.'

'When have I ever?' he replied, landing an uppercut in her gut that sent her flying in the city hall's western wall.

'LISTEN TO ME FOR A MINUTE!'

His fist was raised for another blow, and he stopped just before it hit her, a quizzical look on his face.

'I'll go with you. Now. Just ...leave Townsville alone.'

She got a closer look at him: the bags under his eyes were almost as pronounced as hers after three days of insomnia, he seemed on edge. She had never seen him so drawn, the stubble didn't suit him.

He narrowed his eyes, but his fist loosened:

'I think you're missing the point. You shouldn't be caring about it anymore.'

'Why does it matter? I'll go with you. I'll be your partner.' she pleaded, her voice almost exasperated.

_'Please, let this work.'_

'It's a matter of principle.' he hissed, but his fist had dropped by now.

'I'll stay with you, I **want **to stay with you. Is the **why **that important?'

Blossom noticed a mischievous glimmer in his eye as he was processing what she said.

'I suppose it doesn't, Red, I suppose it doesn't.' Brick said pensively, grabbed her closer and prepared to fly away with her by his side.

As they left, he picked his green brother by the t-shirt mid-air and barked at him:

'We're leaving the city, tell Boomer.'

'But I was having fuuuuunn! Why the hell are we leaving? Butch frowned, disentangling himself from his brother's grip.

'She's coming with us.' he motioned towards the pink puff on his arm.

'AHAHHAHA! YOU DID IT, motherfucker! You mad man, you actually did it!'

He got closer to them, staring at Blossom:

'Hey, gorgeous.' his tone sweetened. 'Since you'll be riding with us, we might as well get friendly.' he winked at her.

'Whoa, apparently green girl's following us. What do I do, Brick?' he took notice, taking a peek behind his shoulder.

'I don't care. I'm sure you can lose her. '

'Gotcha.'

Blossom looked back and could see a huge shield of electricity forming in front of her eyes. Before she could say anything, she saw her sister slamming into it, bouncing off it like a wounded bird.

'BUTTERCUP!' she cried, but Brick didn't stop.

'It's fine, she'll heal. We always heal.' he said softly, sporting a knowing smile.

'Taken care of.' Butch caught up and gave them finger guns. He noticed the mortified look on the pink puff's face.

'Impressed with the shield? Green was the first time, too.'

Blossom swallowed nervously and bit her lip to avoid saying anything.

'Did you tell Boomer we're leaving?'

'No, but he's probably already fucked off somewhere remote to watch the view or something gay like that, that sissy fuck.'

'Text him.'

'Alright, alright.'

They flew together in silence for what seemed like forever, when Blossom dared to open her mouth.

'I'm here willingly, you know. You can let me go now.'

'Sorry, force of habit.'

'Brick smirked and loosened his grip.

'Actually, stop. We're far enough now.'

She gave him a questioning look as he extended a hand towards her.

'Phone, tracking device, whatever you've got.'

'Oh, okay.' she searched her pockets and handed them over. Brick breathed fire over her devices and then let them freefall.

He got closer and Blossom twitched in retreat, Brick raising an eyebrow in suspicion. He then touched her calves, checking for any devices under her trousers. He went up feeling her back pockets, following the curves of her body.

'Can I double-check after you're done? You might have missed a few spots.' Butch teased, looking her up and down.

His hands were now over her breasts, and Brick briefly looked her in the eye, checking for a reaction. He seemed satisfied to notice her flustered look, then finished with the control of her arms.

'All good.' he stated, resuming the flight.

Blossom peeked at his profile as they were flying, something bothering her in the half smile that adorned his face.

There was something disturbing in the ease with which he had accepted her offer, she expected him to be more suspicious, angrier. And now his enigmatic smile managed to unnerve her more.

'Where are we going? Blossom asked nervously. Butch scoffed, giving her an amused glance.

'Well, where do you want to go?' Brick inquired, his eerie smile unchanged.


	24. Sea

_'Why was this the first thing I thought about...?' _

she muttered to herself.

The sun was shining high above her head, it was just after noon. The sand felt smooth under her body compared to the one on the beaches she had visited with her sisters.

She shifted uncomfortably, Brick had accidentally gotten her a way too small two piece and the straps dug into her skin.

She didn't want to think where he got it from, it looked luxurious and the tags were still on, she didn't dare to ask for another one.

Blossom had a sip of water as her throat was parched. A whole bar was available to them, but she felt uneasy using their services. Who knows how Brick had managed to convince them to have all the beach for themselves.

She noticed Boomer carrying a fancy iced cocktail as he sat next to her on sand.

'Do you want a sip? It's pretty good.' he motioned towards the drink.

'No, thanks. I'm good with the water.'

'Suit yourself. he said absentmindedly.

Blossom took a peek at him. He had Brick's built, although slightly lankier. His hair was a short dirty-blonde, and the sea water had given it a rough texture. His expression seemed calm, content and the redhead was shocked how much his eyes reminded her of her sister's. He cocked his head backwards and closed his eyes:

'You know, he's not stupid.' he said, his tone unreadable.

'...What?'

'Brick. He knows you're cooking something up. Don't underestimate him.'

His eyes lazily opened, revealing a dark blue as he gave her a sideways glance:

'I wouldn't if I were you, anyway.'

'I'm not.' Blossom replied, trying to keep her voice cool.

'Good.' he continued sipping on his drink.

_'Has Brick told him anything or is this just sibling intuition?'_

For some reason Blossom couldn't imagine Brick having this sort of discussion with his blonde brother.

_'...because I wouldn't with Bubbles. Well, unless cornered.'_

The redhead felt an unpleasant sensation in her stomach. _'_

_Why would you think that? It would imply some sort of mirroring, similitude between you two.'_

She looked back over at the blonde, still enjoying his drink. It did look awfully tasty and refreshing, some bits of lime scattered throughout. Blossom swallowed some saliva that had pooled in her mouth.

Suddenly, a yell distracted her, it was Butch flying over from the sea, spraying around water like a wet dog.

'Well, well. Don't you clean up nicely, pinky? That swimsuit is awfully tight though, your tits are flowing over.' 'Not that it's a bad thing.' his eyes lit up with mischievous glee.

Blossom blushed furiously, trying to cover up her exposed cleavage. She wanted to wipe that look of his face with a well-deserved punch.

His red brother managed to do it before him with a strong blow behind his neck, sending him face down into the sand.

'You're making her uncomfortable, Butch.' Brick reprimanded him, his voice carrying the promise of a threat.

'What the fuck, man?' Butch moaned, looking annoyed.

Blossom took a look at her counterpart and had a flashback to the day when she last saw him train. His hair was now caught in a loose bun, and he somehow had found some time to shave.

He sat next to her, Blossom finding his proximity disconcerting.

'Fine. Fuck you guys, watch out for me.' Butch threatened, taking a suf board and flying back towards the water.

Boomer snickered and Brick imperceptibly shrug his shoulders.

'Boomer.' The red ruff made a slight motion with his head at him, the blonde complied and went back to the bar.

They were now alone on the sand, and Blossom suddenly felt hotter as he drew slightly closer to her.

'I was surprised you'd want to go to an Italian beach. They were never my favourite.'

'Beaches or italian beaches?'

'Beaches in general.' he chuckled. 'I figured you'd want to see more interesting places. Like the artic ice caps, the oceans themselves or...maybe Mars? I got you wrong.You're a beach kinda girl.' he said, slightly amused.

'Mars?'

Mars had never crossed her mind before, even if it was theoretically possible to go there for them.

_'Why have I never thought of Mars before? Could really be interesting.'_

'Italian beaches was the first thing that came into my mind. I've never been to one.'

'And yet you're not doing anything to enjoy yourself. What is this, water?' he picked up the bottle derisively.

'What do you want me to do?' anger inadvertently slipped in her voice.

'I just want you to enjoy italian beaches.' he gave her an amused glance.

'Maybe this is my way of enjoying them.' she snapped at him, trying to ignore his searching gaze.

'Oh, is it?'

He got closer to her, his right hand tilting her chin. Before she could react, his lips grabbed hers in a hungry kiss. Blossom then felt a hand on her thinly clad breast and she gasped, Brick taking this opportunity to snake his tongue into her mouth and explore it.

Blossom felt a mix of anger, fear and excitement building up in her chest. _'What did you expect? This was bound to happen sooner or later.'_

Blossom found herself responding to his kiss, and felt him smiling against her mouth. As the kiss continued Blossom started seeing flashes of Alex's bloodied corpse in his hands, his bones snapping at every hit. She shuddered and her lips went numb.

Brick stopped the kiss and looked her in the eyes:

'You're scared of me now.'

Blossom fought the urge to yell at him, to launch at him and beat him senseless for all the pain that Alex had felt. Instead she covered her face with her arms, trying to contain it all in.

'I see.' he said, cupping his chin, adopting a thinking pose.

The waves crashed rhythmically into the shore, filling the uncomfortable silence.

'I don't want a blow-up doll, you know.' he muttered against his palm. 'You can tell me what you're thinking, we can argue. I.. enjoy it. I want it all.'

As Blossom attempted to open her mouth, they were interrupted by the sound of a huge wave coming their way. Wave was an understatement, this was a small-scale tsunami. Riding it was Butch on his surfboard, yelling like a maniac.

'FUCK YOU, BITCHES! SUCK ON THIS!'

Blossom was preparing to fly to escape the wave, but she felt Brick's hand catching hers.

'Let it crash on us, might be fun.' he gave her a devilish smile.

Soon she felt the wall of water crashing against her, bubbling against her skin. Brick's hand struggled to keep them close, she could feel herself getting swooped up, excitement rose up in her as she waded against the wave. She unknowingly dragged Brick along further into the ocean, and she could feel his arms coiling around her body as they swam. Eventually they came up for air, Brick still holding her close.

'Fight me. Yell at me. Tell me you hate me.' he whispered softly in her ear. 'Let it all out. No point in hiding it.'

In an act of rebellion, Blossom pushed him away and made it back to the beach. Her heart was booming, and she liked to think it was because of the wave riding adrenaline.

_'He really gets some sick joy out of seeing me distraught. That's some distrurbing power play.'_

She started taking a walk along the seashore to clear her head. Blossom hoped Brick wouldn't follow her, and felt a wave of relief when she looked back and saw him on the towel with a book in his hand.

As she strolled around the beach she noticed how clear the water was, and how beautiful the seashells glistened under it.

_'This really is quite nice. I should really do this with the girls when I return.'_Blossom could feel a pang of hurt in her chest, she hoped they were fine, Buttercup was so easily taken down by Butch's shield...

At least Boomer suggested that Bubbles had gotten back to Townsville in one piece.

_'I'm doing this for them. For everyone.'_As she got back to the boys, she noticed an addition to the group: two girls playfully massaging Butch's back. They were slender and beautiful, and they animatedly giggled amongst themselves in high pitched Italian.

'Yesssss, girls. Work at those muscles.' he moaned, closing his eyes in pleasure.

This further increased their giggling.

'What are they saying?' Boomer inquired.

'Who the fuck cares? I only know I'm getting my dick wet tonight.' his light-hearted tone didn't match his words as he caressed one of the girl's thighs.

'Butch, take it somewhere else, please.' Brick suggested, turning the page.

'Ugh, fine. Scared your girl might get jealous?' he teased, winking at Blossom.

Brick didn't bother to answer, and continued his lecture as Butch flew away with one girl at each side.

A feast was laid out at their feet and an umbrella had materialised over them while she was gone.

Several types of cheese, wine, meat and different types of fruit. Blossom's stomach growled, and Brick looked up from his book, motioning towards the food.

'Eat.' he commanded. 'I know you're hungry.'

Boomer also gave her an inviting smile, passing her an empty plate.

_'I guess I have to avoid starvation, it can't he helped.' _

She chose two types of cheese and some white grapes, she didn't dare touch the wine. An explosion of flavour took hold in her mouth as she chewed on the first morsel of cheese.

_'Oh God, cheese shouldn't be allowed to be this good.'_It was done too soon, so she piled more on her plate. Boomer laughed at her newfound enthusiasm.

'It goes really well with the wine, you know?'

'Not today.'she replied, popping a grape in her mouth. _'Not ever.'_The rest of the afternoon flew by in a haze as she resumed her activity of staring at the waves. Boomer had fallen asleep, and Brick was steadily going though his book.

She took a closer look at it: **The Stranger **by **Albert Camus. **She had heard of it before, but never found the time herself to read it. It wasn't the easiest lecture. Somehow she didn't imagine him to be the bookish type when he dropped by all those late nights. Blossom expected him to mock all fruit of human labor, by the way he had talked.

_'Maybe I could borrow it after he's done. Would be nice to catch up on my reading.'_'We should head off, find somewhere to spend the night.' Brick said, breaking off her reverie and closing his book 'Let's find Butch first,the idiot forgot his phone here. **Again**.' the redhead groaned.

They all went after him, and Boomer started calling out his name.

'Yeah, here.' a rough voice responded.

They followed it, and behind some boulders they could see Butch's spiky hair appearing.

'I'm done, let's go.'

As she drew closer and peeked behind the boulders, Blossom saw a sight that made her gasp in utter mortification.

There laid the two girls,now ruined, their charred remains being rhythmically hit by the waves.

'Y-You..'

'I-I..'Butch's tone matched hers mockingly.

'I fucked them. Game over.'

Blossom's memory brought back Alex, she couldn't hold it in anymore and puked in the sea, feeling the guilt overwhelming her.

'Get over it, puff. A man has needs.' Butch spat in the sand.

Blossom could barely register anything as Brick grabbed her hand and carried her away.


	25. Habits

Hey, guys! Been updating quite a bit recently, curious what you think about the story so far!

XOXO

* * *

'Are you alright?' Brick inquired, knocking on the bathroom's door.

It had been a few hours since they left the beach and Brick had found them a place to spend the night: it was a summer villa owned by some millionaire. A bit of convincing and a display of their powers was all it took for the guards to let them stay.

Blossom had glued herself to the toilet ever since they had arrived a few minutes ago. A combination of seeing Butch's conquests and the cheese she had eaten earlier had made her sick enough to want to spend the rest of her evening close to a toilet. She felt light-headed from all the puking, probably dehydration.

She heard Brick knocking again. When she failed to respond he barged in and observed Blossom in all her glory.

'I've told you about this before. It might have happened to you, too.'

Every barrier she had put collapsed, and she snapped at him in anger:

'Yes, but you don't see me actively going out and fucking people into oblivion.'

_'It's hard to keep your cool while clinging to a toilet seat' _she darkly thought_._

'I don't understand why you're surprised. Did you expect Butch to act differently?' his brow furrowed in confusion.

**_'SNAP!'_**

**_'SNAP!'_**

'No, I don't expect any of you to act differently. You're all psychopaths.'

Her reply threw Brick into a fit of laughter.

'This is what I want from you, Red.' he stood tall in the bathroom frame, almost mocking her with his stature.

'Tell me how much you hate me for snapping that boy like the twig that he was.'

Blossom had enough. Weakened or not, her fist managed to make contact with his cheek and throw him across the room.

This seemed only to further excite him.

'How could you give yourself to such a weak man? Did you hear his cries? He almost asked for his mommy.'he taunted her, awaiting another blow.

'It's actually about this, yes? Not Butch's girls.'

Blossom felt another wave of sick coming up, and she went back to the toilet seat: when he was done she just felt empty.

'Just leave me alone, Brick.'

His gaze softened and he left momentarily, coming back with a glass of water and a small pill in his hand.

'Take this.' he motioned towards the pill.

'You'll feel better. I'll be in the room if you need anything.' he said, closing the bathroom door to give her privacy.

Blossom felt too bad to NOT take the pill, so she gulped it down with the glass of water. A few minutes past and she did eventually feel better, so she made her way back in the room.

She was vaguely surprised to see she's sharing a queen sized bed with Brick, and he noticed the twitch in her eye.

'You can have your own bed if you want. I just wanted to keep an eye on you tonight, if you don't mind.'

Blossom nodded as she snuck herself under the blanket, too tired to further pursue that conversation. She did make sure to stay as farthest from him as she possibly could.

Exhaustion creeped in and her eyelids started to close slowly. As she fell asleep Blossom felt his hands tucking her in and cold air filled the room as he flew out the window.

* * *

Her head pounded when she woke up the next day. She looked next to her, he was nowhere to be found. Instead, a set of neatly folded clothes and a note.

'**I'll be back later**

**I hope they fit you this time.'**

Blossom blushed as she realised he must have noticed as well how small yesterday's swim suit had been.

She checked out the clothing: a simple red t-shirt, black shorts and modest underwear. Blossom was surprised, for some reason she had expected him to give her something sexier to wear.

But no, it was all very proper and functional and this time, well-fitting.

When she went downstairs she found Boomer smoking a joint by himself in the living. She recognised the smell from the few house parties she went to as a teen, but had never tried it.

He beckoned her to come closer and invited her to take a puff.

'No, thanks... I've never tried it.'

'It's only a plant, it might calm you down a little. Butch really did a number on you last night with his habits. It will help you cope a bit.' 'Aaand it's fun' he added as an afterthought.

'I don't know about it.. Where's Brick?' she tried to weasel herself out of it.

'I don't know. Didn't see him leave.' he replied , now munching on some sweets.

'This is such a good strain, haha. Please, Blossom, give it a try. Brick's not home till later. It'll be between us.' he attempted to wink and failed, which sent him into a fit of laughter.

'I don't think I'll like it..'

'C'mon...I've been nice to your sister, yes? You can pay me back now.'

_'He's got a point, he could have treated Bubbles worse.'_

His hand was extended towards her, holding the blunt, a pleading look in his eyes.

_'And truth be told, this month is going to probably be the craziest of your life, so you might as well go to town.'_

'Alright.' she said, grabbing the joint. She took a puff and then violently started to cough, the smoke irritating her airways.

'Wait, let me show you. You haven't smoked normal cigs either, eh?'

Blossom shaked her head and continued coughing. Boomer grabbed the blunt and took one continuous deep breath, then exhaled.

'You have to take a deep breath so it gets to your lungs..if you stop sooner you're going to choke. Ok, now you try it.'

'You're insane if you think I'm trying that again.' she replied, her cough finally subsiding.

'Trust me.'

She grabbed the blunt and took a deep breath, then exhaled a thick cloud of smoke.

'Oh, yeah, that's it, very good! You learn fast!'

Blossom tried once more, this time as she exhaled she felt herself getting lighter.

'Puff, puff, pass, Blossom.' he reached for the blunt.

They continued this way for two more times, and Blossom could feel her body tingling and everything getting heavier against her, like walking thought a fog. However, it wasn't an unpleasant sensation, she had never felt so light-headed.

Boomer motioned her to sit next to him on the couch, so she lied down, her head spinning.

'How are you feeling?'

'Weird. Light. Somehow, clear-minded.' she waved her hands in front of her face, seemingly fascinated with their movement.

'Better?' he inquired.

'I guess so... can I have some of your chips?'

'Haha, sure, sister, go to town.' he giggled, and Blossom had to take a double take at him to make sure it wasn't Bubbles instead.

Time seemed to dilate and constrict, Blossom could only focus on the extraordinary flavour of the chips he provided. Boomer opened a laptop and looked for trippy videos online, inviting her to join. The shapes sprang at Blossom, sucking her into a vortex of colors.

'You know, I sometimes wonder what it would be like if I lead a normal life. How different would everything be..'

'It's not that great.' Blossom blurted out without realizing.

'Oh...?'

'No, I mean...yeah, it's fun. Bubbles really likes working at the animal shelter.

'Yeah, she told me about that. Wish I could try it.'

'Why don't you?'

Boomer scoffed.

'It's complicated.' he outlined with his index finger imaginary circles on the ceiling. 'You don't know what Brick is like.'

'I think I've got an idea.' Blossom gave him a cynical smile.

'Oh, yeah, fair enough. He's pretty single-minded. He fixates on some ideas. Would lose his shit if I dared to live normally.'

'Can't you refuse?'

'Can you?' pain permeated the smile that creeped on his face.

More time passed, and they were already through their third blunt.

'Your sister is cute.' he said, checking for her reaction.

'Mhm.' Blossom nodded, now munching on a piece of chocolate.

'Do you think she'd ever...?' he mumbled as he rolled another joint.

'Maybe.' the redhead flashed him a genuine smile, it was hard not to feel comfortable in his presence.

'Maybe is good. I can do maybe.'

The mood was ruined by Butch storming in, soaked, his clothes drenched in mud.

'Eyyy, what are you fuckers doing here?' he hollered, going straight to the kitchen.

Blossom heard him opening the fridge door and grunting in frustration.

'What the fuck, Boomer? There's nothing in here.'

'We only came here last night, what did you expect?'

'I expected your gay little ass to snatch us some damn beers since you bought out the whole supermarket for your stupid munchies.' he came back into the living room, leaving mud stains on the carpet.

'Didn't peg you as a stoner, sweetcheeks.' he smirked, grabbing a bag of chips and wolfing down.

Boomer laughed, almost toppling over.

'We almost went through all of my stash. She's fun.'

'I'm more of a coke guy myself. Say, how about we go on a bender together? We can, you know, have fun, too.' he bit his lip and thrust his hips forward. 'I'll give you the time of your life.'

'So I've seen.' Blossom replied darkly.

Butch was taken aback by her reply and snapped :

'Oh, I'm sowwy, was widdle Pinky hurt by sewwing the two floozies die?' he mockingly wiped some imaginary tears.

'Grow the fuck up, Blossie.' he said, throwing the muddied bag of chips back on the table. 'They died doing what they loved.' he pointed at himself with both thumbs. 'Me.'

'Brick needs to knock some sense into you.' he continued, leaving the room and flying upstairs.

'You'll get used to him.' Boomer said, lighting another cigarette.

'Do I want to? Blossom teased back.

'You'll have to.' the blonde replied with a blank voice.

Blossom shuddered. She had almost forgotten who she shared this day with. He was ultimately an enemy who she'd have to destroy at the right time.

'He's disgusting. He muddied up the place.' Blossom said, looking at the trace of dirt that followed Butch upstairs.

'It's fine. We're leaving tomorrow anyway.'

'We are?'

'Brick never likes us staying too long in one place. Townsville was an exception.'

he took another drag at the joint.

'I've never seen him so obsessed with something as he was with getting you.'

Blossom felt her cheeks light up, hoping it was the weed, actually knowing it wasn't.

'I hope he's happy now. Well, happiER**. **He's never been a happy kinda guy.'

Blossom never through she'd find herself in the position of someone describing her counterpart. She was fascinated, yearning for more.

They were interrupted by Brick's frame appearing in the doorway. His brow was furrowed, he did seem like a grumpy sort of guy, yes, Blossom agreed.

_'Tense. Tense is a good word'_

He was carrying a bag full of takeout, she could tell by the styrofoam containers.

'Quite impressive, really. I leave you one day with Boomer and you're already a stoner. Already losing your edge?' he teased, resting the bags near their munchies.

'Yeeeessss, warm food. Thank you, Papa!' Boomer beamed, almost wagging his tail at his brother.

'I told you to stop calling me that.' a spark of annoyance lit over his face.

_'Papa?'_

Blossom started to laugh uncontrollably, barely pausing to catch her breath.

This made Brick's features relax as he took out the boxes and gave them one each.

Butch was already back at the mention of food, freshly showered and only wearing a towel.

'Chinese? **AGAIN?**' Butch moaned as he opened his.

'If you don't like it get your own food.' Brick replied calmly.

'Ugh, fine.'

Everyone was digging in silently, and Blossom looked around. In her hazy state, it seemed like an average family enjoying a meal.

Brick gave her a curious glance above his box of takeout. She met his gaze but couldn't hold it, however, it still pierced though her.


	26. Embrace

She was still somewhat high as they prepared to go to bed, she hadn't expected for it to last that long.

Blossom curiously studied her roomate, Brick: He seemed more thoughtful and serious than he had been back in Townsville. It's as if he had been shielding his true personality from her.

_'He're surely not as talkative. Back there he couldn't wait to go on some megalomaniacal rant.'_'

'Did you have a good day?' he asked, taking his clothes off one by one, remaining into boxers and getting into bed.

Blossom tried to hide her embarassment at the sight of him, but she could only focus on how the edges of his hair brushed against his muscles. Brick mistook her look as one of scolding:

'Yes, I sleep naked.' he raised his eyebrow. 'Got any problem with it?'

'No, no... it's fine.' Blossom muttered, changing in the pyjamas he had brought her.

_'We are past the 'I've-seen-you-nude' embarassment stage, are we not? We should be, anyway.'_'

'Today was good, your brother is pretty fun.' she replied, sneaking under the blanket as well. The bed was huge, but she still felt turmoil thinking of their proximity.

'Where were you today? she inquired, watching him intently.

'I had some things to take care of.' he replied absent mindedly, grabbing 'The Stranger' from the nightstand.

' 'Things?' What 'things'?' she felt herself grow irritated with him.

' None of your concern, forget about it.' he brushed her off, resuming his book.

His dismissing tone irked her, both her curiosity and annoyance heightened.

'Forget about it? You could be attacking Townsville and I wouldn't know!'

This sent him into overdrive, his eyes widened as he straddled her and pinned her arms on the matress.

'I'm a man of my word, Blossom.' he stared her down coldly. 'Do you enjoy provoking me?' his expression changed into one of amused interest.

'I want to know what you're up to.' she replied with a steely tone, trying to bypass the vulnerable position she was into.

'I'm a private person, Red. You'll learn to accept that. '

'Seems like I'll have to grow to accept a lot of stuff around here.' she replied bitterly.

'The sooner, the better. Don't worry, I'll make it worthwhile.' he grinned devilishly and planted a long kiss on her lips.

Before she could object she felt one hand going under her shirt and massaging her skin. Another went under the elastic band of her PJs and cupped one of her buttcheeks.

She let out a moan of satisfaction, hearing this he rapidly took off her pants and blouse and she was left in her underwear only.

Blossom could feel herself blush as he grabbed one of her breasts and gave it a squeeze. Before she could protest his mouth was on her nipple, his tongue caressing the tip.

Brick got closer to her sex and took off her panties slowly. He then spread her legs wide, but Blossom crossed them back out of embarassment.

'Let me see you.'

She uncrossed them shyly and then he spread them even wider and tentatively placed a finger in her folds.

He started making circles on her sex and she gave a cry of pleasure, arching her back.

'I can make this even better for you.'

_'Oh, God, he wants to...'_

He put his mouth on her curls and started licking her clitoris. Blossom could feel wave after wave of warmth overcoming her. He then put a finger inside her pussy and started sliding it across the inner wall. He continued this as her hips started bucking around his head. He added another finger, and she was so wet it wasn't met with any resistance.

_'Fuck...fuck!'_

Her orgasm came with a huge shock, leaving them both shuddering and Brick with a large red lighting shaped scar on his face.

She looked at him terrified, but he only smiled.

'That was delicious, Red.'

Her sex was still pulsating as he put her underwear back on and gave her a longing kiss. She could taste herself on his lips and it sent another wave of pleasure in her core.

He then went back to the side of his bed and resumed his book.

Blossom was staggered as she looked at him calmly reading.

_'That's it? He's going to leave me like this?'_

She couldn't ignore the build-up of arousal in her lower abdomen, screaming for him to take her.

_'What now? You want to beg for his dick? You're so pathetic, Blossom.'_

'Um..?'

'Yes? He looked over, trying to contain his amusement.'

'Don't you..want anything more?' she muttered under her breath, nearly dying of embarassment as the words escaped for mouth.

'Me? No. Do **you** want...anything more?' he said huskily, raising her chin with his index.

'If you do, you should ask nicely for it.' he teased, his index now travelling towards her collarbone.

The excitement kept piling up in her sex, fueled by each one of his touches.

_'Fuck you, asshole. This is humiliating.'_

'Please.' she whispered reluctantly.

'That's all you had to say.' he straddled her again and this time he nibbled at her neck while his hands removed her underwear once again.

Brick went on to take off his own boxers, his dick was rock hard and Blossom pictured it going inside her, stretching her deliciously. He quickly grabbed a condom and rolled it across his shaft.

He started licking her folds, this time in short strokes. Blossom could feel a gaping hole growing inside of her as he continued his assault on her sex and inner thigh. He decided to go back to her mouth and she felt his dick teasing her entrance. He nibbled devilishly at her lower lip and then started licking the side of her neck. All this time the head of his penis traveled along her folds, teasing her clitoris.

'I think this is what you wanted, yes? Answer me.' he whispered in her ear.

Blossom felt she could burst. She tried to buck her hips to make him enter her, but he quickly dodged.

'Yes..'

When he heard this he lowered his hand to spread her lips and positioned his shaft to enter her. He went inside her and she felt him stretching her walls, then slowly started pumping as he gave her reassuring kisses.

His erection was a bit too big for her, it hurt... but it was such an exquisite pain.

He rose, took her legs and propped them on his shoulders. He started going a bit faster, each pump making her whole body shake with pleasure, and she couldn't help but moan at the contact.

He went faster and harder, each stroke hitting her deep.

Blossom felt warmth pooling in her sex, she came once again with a cry and this time her eyes fluttered open and red lasers started shooting out in her excitement. Burning holes appeared in the ceiling as she felt his hands cover her eyes. 'It's ok, it's alright. Let's keep going. I want too come too this time.'

Then she felt him turning her around on her belly and dragging her at the end of the bed.

'Stay on all fours. Arch your back.' he commanded.

Blossom complied, sticking her ass out for him to grab. He guided his dick in her folds and entered her from behind painfully slow. She then tried bucking her hips against him, begging for him to start.

'Fuck, don't do that. I'm losing my mind here.'

He grabbed a handful of her long hair and tilted her head backwards as he pounded into her. Blossom gave out a cry of pleasure, she had no idea pain could feel this good.

'I want to come. Can I, or do you want more?' he begged.

'More.' she whimpered, pushing her hips against him.

'I can't..I..'

Suddenly, it was Blossom's turn to get shocked as Brick had his release. A huge red lighting-shaped mark was burned into her back and the sheets on the bed were instantly fried.

Brick collapsed next to her.

'Sorry about that.' he muttered, staring at the ceiling. 'Seems like we fucked this place up. It's good we're leaving tomorrow.'

Blossom was too exhausted to say anything, and just nodded in agreement.

He circled the holes on the ceiling with his finger.

'That never happened to me.'

'...'

Blossom looked at his profile. Resting in bed, his long hair scattered on the pillow he seemed like any other boy. She could almost forget who he really was. Then he turned towards her , she faced his blood red eyes and she remembered.

As she felt his lips touching hers Blossom closed her eyes, and for a moment, she chose to forget who they were.


	27. Training

I think this is going to be a longer story than I anticipated, yelp. It seems to have a mind of its own. rr

XOXO

* * *

'Damn, it's a bit chilly in here.'

If wasn't** that **bad for an April morning, but sleeping with gaping holes into the ceiling maybe wasn't the best idea.

'Well, it's your doing.' Brick yawned, also pointing at the sheets.

'No, the sheets are your doing.' she narrowed her eyes at him. 'I only take responsibility for the new skylights.'

she grinned at him, playfully punching his arm.

Brick smiled back, rubbing at his sleepy eyes.

_'The atmosphere has no right to be this chilled. Wow, and you're actually flirting, Blossom. Way to go.'_

Blossom's grin subsided, and Brick could feel the subtle shift in her countenance, but didn't say anything. An uncomfortable silence grew between them.

'Is this going to be like last time?' he eventually asked, a hint of weariness in his voice.

Blossom raised her eyebrows, unsure of his reference.

'You feeling remorse after sleeping with me.' he rubbed his temples in frustration.

'Oh...' she mumbled, unsure of how to react. 'No, it's not.'

'Good.' he replied coldly. 'Because I'm out of people to kill in fits of jealousy.' he said, tying his hair back in a casual bun.

_'Jealousy? He's actually admitting to it?'_

'Or do you have other boyfriends that I don't know of?' he asked slyly, getting closer to her side of the bed.

'What if I did? What gives you the right to butcher them all?'

Brick scoffed at her:

'There's no divine law that gives away these kind of rights. It all comes down to power: am I powerful enough to kill them or not.'

'And I am. We are. Blossom, how can you not see this, still?' he groaned in frustration, making it to her side of the bed and cupping her jaw.

_'Why do I bother arguing? I just have to make it through the month and it's done.'_

'I'm hungry and I need a coffee. Can we leave now?' she said, exhausted, rising from the bed and hurrying downstairs. Brick sighed and followed her shortly after.

Butch was already at the kitchen table, wolfing down the remains of last night's takeout.

'Nice performance last night, guys. 8/10 in a hotness scale, needs a bit more oomph next time.'

'...What the?'

'Super hearing, remember?' he tapped on his ear.

'Butch, can you not eavesdrop for once in your life?' Brick casually asked, filling a glass of water for himself.

'Hard not to do when hotpants here is involved.' he bit his lip suggestively.

'You take way too many liberties in the way you talk to her. You seem to forget she's my girlfriend.' he continued calmly, taking a sip.

The word took Blossom by surprise. She did, indeed, agree to being his 'partner', but somehow, she didn't imagine him using **that** word for her.

'Yeah, yeah, hands off the goods, don't worry, bro.'

'I'm a person, you know.' Blossom interjected, feeling annoyed at the exchange.

'Oh, now the doggy tries to bite, look at it.' he replied mockingly.

'If I'm a doggy what does make you? Fecal bacteria stuck on a skidmark?' she snapped back.

This garnered a chuckle from Brick who was now lazily checking his smartphone.

'Watch it there, sweetheart.' Butch got closer to her, visibly bothered. 'You might be Brick's girl, but it would be too bad if something happened to Butterbitch.' he taunted her and relished in the fear he could read in his eyes.

'Enough.' Brick's eyes had turned steely. 'I said we're leaving Townsville alone, Butch.'

'You said that, I never...'

'**We** are leaving Townsville alone, Butch.' he intervened before the green ruff could finish.

'Fine.' Butch reluctantly replied, seething with anger.

The atmosphere was tense, Brick still mindlessly scrolling while Butch and Blossom gave each other icy looks.

Luckily, Boomer walked in beaming like a ray of sunshine.

'Hey, guys.' 'Whoa, whoa, what's with the bad vibes?' he looked around trying to find the source.

'It's nothing.' Brick cooly replied, tucking his phone back in his pocket. He looked at the others:

'Everyone fine with moon training today?'

_Moon training?_'

'Ugh, moon training? Can I skip?

'As long as there's three of us going, I don't mind, Butch.' 'Boomer?'

'Ye, I'm up for it. It's fun to have someone else joining for a change.' he smiled at Blossom.

'Ok, it's settled then. We can get a bite in the nearby city first.

On this occasion, Blossom had the best pasta dish of her life. Surprisingly enough, served in a tiny, unassuming restaurant on the Italian seashore.

Before anyone else, Butch was done with his family size dish and was preparing to leave:

'See you later, suckers!'

'Butch, maximum 10 o'clock, that villa we've stayed on before in Iceland.'

'I've got my phone and tracking app anyway.' he rolled his eyes at his brother.

'In case.. '

'In case I lose it, yea.' he interrupted, irked by Brick's bossiness.

'Wouldn't be the first time.'

Blossom was slightly amused by their dynamic, it reminded her a lot of her and her sisters.

Butch dashed off, and they quickly followed, launching straight for the stars.

It had been so many years since she had been in space, Blossom could barely remember the feeling.

As they flew, she could hear Brick addressing her:

'I'm briefing you now on what we'll do up there since we won't be able to communicate anymore in space. We're going to play catch.' he turned his gaze towards her. She cocked her head at him, expecting more.

'That's it. Catch in space. Well, you can do more if you want to entertain Boomer.'

'Is catch in space that special?' she gave him a quizzical look.

'It's faster, no gravity or air involved. It's the moon, remember?' he said, poking her forehead.

As they went farther, she could feel the air thinning and her flight becoming smoother, unobstructed. It was an eerie sensation, and she would be lying if she said she didn't relish in it. It was freeing to not feel the wind slapping against her face.

At some point in their ascension, she turned to Brick and attempted to speak, but found she could only mouth the words. Blossom looked backwards, Earth was behind them, the blue of the oceans peeking through a thick layer of clouds.

The moon was getting closer and closer, and, before she knew it, Blossom was stepping on the grey, sand like surface.

She picked up a handful of the dust and witnessed it dispersing in the void.

Boomer had picked up a huge rock, and, thankfully, she noticed it launching at her head. She caught it in time, but it almost slipped from her fingers, it seemed to have a mind of its own.

_'Space catch really is something else.'_

She threw it back at Boomer as strongly as she could, mostly as payback. The blonde did a few playful flips in the air before intercepting it and passing it off to Brick.

The game continued, but Blossom eventually found herself worn down by the extreme temperature she was forced to adapt to.

Boomer noticed her fatigue and decided they would take a break. He grabbed her hand and started looking for something on the lunar surface. After looking for a while his face lit up in recognition.

He pointed at a huge dent in the dust and motioned with his head that they should fly above it.

Blossom could see letters drawn in the dust, together forming the name 'Boomer'.

Brick soon joined them and Boomer enthusiastically pointed at Blossom and at the letters on the lunar surface.

Brick shaked his head, clearly not compliant, but his brother wouldn't let it rest. Blossom reluctantly agreed with his plan, and he showed them 7 fingers and then pointed at each of them.

_'7 fingers...7 letters...B L O S S O M'_

Boomer motioned that he would do the first 2, Blossom the next 3 and Brick the last 2 letters.

They marched together to the moon's surface and started working on the letters, Boomer showing them how to draw them by dragging their feet in the dust.

Blossom realised too late that she didn't properly anticipate how much space her letters should take, so she barely managed to squeeze in the last S.

When they were done the blonde took them to admire their work, but he started laughing at the result. It wasn't great. All the letters were uneven, and that barely there S clearly took the cake.

Brick facepalmed and convinced them to go back for another round of lunar catch.

_'Great, now my name is immortalized in the lunar surface in the writing of a 5 year old.' _

As they continued with the game, they moved closer to the nighttime side of the moon, and Brick motioned to her to give it a try.

He took her near the edge, holding her hand, then plunged in and felt the darkness enveloping her. The shift was sudden, she felt the cold entering her bones.

Brick then decided they had had enough and began the descent back to Earth. He looked behind, smiled devilishly and grabbed both their hands as they made their way to Earth's surface.

Their speed was increasing, and as they were close to entering the Earth's atmosphere, Blossom noticed that Brick and Boomer were creating some sort of protective shield with their hands.

She impulsively decided to join, her pink aura attempting to strengthen theirs. She eventually managed, the resulting shield turning a light mauve hue as they continued crashing through the stratosphere. She tried her best to hold it up, struggling to keep her hands from shaking:

_'One crack in this shield and we're fried. Might take a few days to heal.'_

She noticed Brick laughing next to her with pure glee, like a child. Further increasing the speed, he couldn't contain his excitement at their meteoric fall.

Passing the cloud layer, Blossom thanked the gods they were above an ocean, she couldn't see anything else but water though the mauve shield. A few seconds passed and they splashed into the waves, slightly dampening their fall.

As they sank deeper and deeper a single thought passed Blossom's mind:

_'What a ride.'_


	28. Second Sight

_'What are you doing, Blossom?'_

She stared blankly at the wooden ceiling, trying to calm down the whirlwind of thoughts in her head.

They had spent the last two days in this comfy cottage in Iceland. The cottage they were staying in this time wasn't as modern as the Italian villa, but it definitely felt more like a home. She had her own room this time, like Brick had promised.

Blossom got up and rubbed at her eyes; it had been a few hours since she attempted to sleep for the first time, to no avail. She got closer to the cacking fireplace, rubbed her hands together and sat on the bear hide in front of it. The fur was dangerously close to the flames, some parts of it were charred.

_'Bubbles would hate this fur so much. She wouldn't be wrong to.'_

She thought of the girls and how harassed they must be now because of her: FBI, press, the professor...Blossom's brow furrowed remembering the encounter she had had with Butch the other day. His threat regarding Buttercup hadn't passed unnoticed. She hoped Brick would hold to his end of the bargain and keep his brother in line.

The thought of Brick clawed at her heart, she didn't know whether there was a point in feeling bad about sleeping with him or not anymore.

_'I'm his partner for the month, what did you expect he'd want? it's what you bargained for._'

She changed position, drawing the bear hide further from the fire.

_'I just have to do what needs to be done when the time is right.__ For everyone's sake. I hope the professor finishes Antidote X in time.' _she thought as the dancing flames reflected in her eyes.

She decided against thinking about it more and made her way to the kitchen for a glass of water. She took a peek into the hallway: deadly silent, everyone was probably already asleep.

She was surprised to find Brick sitting at the kitchen counter, book in hand.

He merely acknowledged her with a look as she got a glass and filled it to the brim.

'Can't sleep?' he asked softly, closing his book.

'No. You?'

'This is normal for me, I rarely sleep this early.'

'Doesn't it mess with your productivity?' she lightly teased, taking a sip of water.

'I can indulge myself this luxury, since I'm not tied to everyone's 9-5 schedule.' he replied, leaning back in his chair.

'What about you?' he motioned his head at her. 'You were always awake when I came to visit you.'

'I couldn't sleep.' she answered, looking at the half-empty glass.

'Figures. I must have really messed up your life.'

Blossom looked at him incredulously:

'Oh, you think?' she snorted at him, resting the glass on the countertop.

Brick simply gave her a strange smile, his eyes studying her with a pierceing gaze.

A few moments passed as he finally asked:

'What were you planning to do before I came back?'

Blossom was taken aback by the question, and tentatively inquired:

'What is it to you? I thought you despised ordinary living.'

'Of course, but I'm curious about you.' he replied, pining her with his gaze, words rolling off his tongue.

She could feel herself growing hotter under his stare, but managed to keep eye contact with him as she replied:

'Biochemistry major, Neuroscience minor. I hoped I could work with the professor after getting my degree.'

'Did you like it?'

'I had just started out, but it was pretty interesting. Why would I do it otherwise?'

she furrowed her brow at him.

'Well, there are many lines of reasoning that people use when choosing to do things. Most of them involving societal expectations, very few people actually LIKE what they're working.' he ranted, getting himself a peach from the countertop.

'Do you like what YOU're doing?' Blossom demanded, her voice taking on a steely tone.

'Of course. Why would I bother with anything else? I don't care for the world and it doesn't care for me.' he said calmly, biting into its fuzzy skin. 'Did you actually like chemistry, or did you just want to be daddy's good little girl?'

A flash of anger appeared on Blossom's face:

'You apparently know me better than I do, so maybe I should just let you finish this conversation by yourself.'

She turned around to leave, but felt his hand grabbing hers.

'You really hate me.'

'What gave it away?' she slapped his hand off, losing her temper.

'Tell me.' he said, grabbing her hand again. 'I want you to let it all out.'

'Do you seriously think me lashing out at you is going to bring those people back?'

'No, but it might help you feel better.'

'Then you don't know anything about me.'

She disentangled from his grip again and went back to her room. Luckily, this time he didn't follow her.

* * *

'Brick's away.' Boomer responded, noticing the redhead's curious glances.

It was around nood, and he was sitting on the porch with a fluffy kitten on his lap. Blossom could tell it was a stray, its fur was a mess, and as it fidgeted around it muddied up Boomer's trousers.

'Where'd you find her? You'd better get her cleaned up if is she's coming in the house.'

'Ye, I know. Wanna help me?' Boomer beamed at her, enthusiastically petting his new companion.

'Um, sure. Wait for me to get some soap and water.'

As they lathered up the tiny animal, it let out small uncomfortable screeches.

'Hehe, he hates it. 'Boomer chuckled, pouring some water on its back.

'It's a he?'

'Yeah, I'll call him Garfield.'

Under all that mud the kitten's fur was, indeed, orange.

'Too bad I can't keep him.'

'Why not?'

'Brick doesn't see the point since we're on the road all the time.'

'Do you do everything Brick tells you to do?' she took a furtive glance at him while lathering the kitten.

'Of course. We owe him our life.' he replied casually, cleaning Garfield's paws one by one.

'Your life?'

'Err, yeah. Seems like he didn't tell you about it yet.'

'Tell me about what?' Blossom's voice had gained a shrill undertone.

'Hn, I guess cat's out of the bag now.' he replied, chuckling nervously.

'Where should I start...Did you bring a towel?'

Blossom passed him a huge white fluffy towel and he wrapped the kitty in it. Boomer looked at her expectantly almost waiting for an answer, she merely nodded at him encouragingly.

'Well, Butch killed Mojo.' '**Accidentally****.' **he added, seeing the shock in her yes.

'How?' Blossom asked, still processing the sheer implications of that statement.

'How should I say it...Mojo had called us to test a new drug of his that would make us stronger. We all took it, but... it didn't sit well with Butch. He went crazy, completely apeshit and killed Mojo. It happened so fast I...'

He stopped and looked away to shake off the bad memory.

'We got scared and hid the body. We hoped nobody found out, everyone thought he skipped town, Brick tried to frame it like that. Someone didn't believe it, tho.' he said gravely.

'Who?' Blossom was entranced.

'Him. And for some reason they were closer than we'd ever suspected.'

Blossom's entire perception about the last 10 years brutally shifted. Mojo's departure had seemed suspicious at the time, but eventually they'd accepted the idea and continued with their lives. But what about Him?

'He trapped us in Hell to teach us a lesson. I'm sorry, but...I really don't want to talk about this part.'

Although curious, Blossom knew a thing or two about His methods. Whatever it had been, it had deeply taken its toll on Boomer's psyche.

'But Brick got us out. So that's why we always do whatever he tells us.'

'How did he get you out?'

'Ask him yourself. He never told us. We tried to ask but he wouldn't tell.

'Did he...kill Him?'

'I don't think you can, can you? Isn't he the Devil? I don't know what he did, but we left and never went back.'

Blossom was shell-shocked as she watched Boomer dry off the kitten. This certainly explained why the villain activity had been so sparce in the last 10 years. If both Mojo, Him and the Rowdyruffs were off the market, that didn't leave many other contenders.

'What happened afterwards?'

Boomer's expression lightened:

'We started exploring, of course. It's been...5 years I think.'

_'They spent that much time with HIM..?' 5 years stuck in his lair..?'_The kitten meowed and happily licked Boomer's cheek. The blonde let out a joyful cry as he nuzzled against his neck.

'So, you see, I can't keep Garfield. Not until Brick lets me.'

Blossom nodded.

_'What could Brick possibly have done to escape? What was so vile that he had to keep his brothers out of it?'_'It's between us, ok? Don't ever mention it to Butch. He hasn't been the same since Mojo.'

'Why did you tell me all this?' Blossom straightforwardly asked, looking into his blue orbs.

'You're one of us now, aren't you? Brick's girl.'

'Yes, I suppose I am.' Blossom replied, averting her gaze.

'Look how clean he is.' Boomer squealed, pointing at Garfield. 'I hope I can find him a good home around here, he's too cute.'

Blossom could feel her stomach growling.

'Want us to go get something to eat, Boomer?'

'Or we could cook something together!'

'Errr, might not be the best idea.' Blossom shifted uncomfortably.

'Why? I make great pancakes!'

'Fine, as long as you're the one cooking.' she gave him a sheepish smile as they made their way into the kitchen.


	29. Beauty

She wanted to ask him so badly. Blossom hadn't thought of anything else ever since Boomer dropped the bomb on her.

_'Realistically, he'd probably just tell me to mind my own business and snake a hand in my pants to distract me.'_

She didn't even know how you could even casually bring up such a subject . On top of that, she hadn't even seen that much of him to get to ask.

_'Bold of you to assume he'd ever tell you something he hasn't even told his brothers yet.'_

'Any ideas?' Brick's question snapped her out of her reverie. They were all having takeout in the cottage's kitchen, this time Brick had brought fresh grilled fish and some strange looking bread. He said it was traditional rye bread called rúgbrauð, Blossom found it a bit too sweet for her liking.

'I say we go to Colombia, I need some good cocaine. Flossy here might like it, too.'

'No, no, we can go on the African savannah, Blossom would love to see the elephants.' Boomer chimed in, playfully touching her hand.

Blossom shivered at the contact. She hadn't expected for the blonde to warm up to her so fast. Especially since yesterday's story, he had gotten more loving with her by the minute. It reminded her too much of Bubbles.

'Getting touchy with Brick's girl, Boomer? I hoped I'd be the first.' Butch groaned, streching like a lazy cat.

Brick shot him a cold look and then addressed Blossom:

'How about you? Where do you want to go?'

'France.' she blurted out.

'Why? 'an amused grin adorned his face.

'Flossy here wants to eat croissants with you in the Eiffel tower, obviously. It's so adorable I want to puke my guts out.' Butch teased, making gagging noises.

Blossom narrowed her eyes at the raven haired teen:

'For your information, The Louvre Museum is in France, and I've never visited it. But of course, since your brain is fried from all the coke, you wouldn't know or care.'

'I'd rather be brainfried than a boring bitch like you.' he mouthed a kiss at her.

'Kids, calm down.' Boomer waved his hands in their line of sight in an attempt to dispel the bad vibes.

'What were you thinking, Brick?' Boomer attempted to revert the attention to the redhead.

'Nothing in particular on my mind.' he softy replied, surveying the room. After a few seconds he added:

'I can go with Blossom in Paris by myself. If you're not interested, you and Butch can go where ever you want.'

'I can co...' Boomer started, but was shut down by a quick icy glare from his brother.

_'He wants us to be alone...in Paris.' _Blossom fought the blush creeping on her face.

_'Such a cliché.'_

'It will probably take more than a day for us to visit it, so we can all meet in two days. Is that fair to you?'

'I'm done in a few hours. How much time do you want to spend in that shithole savannah, Boomer?' Butch asked, giving his brother a playful punch.

The blonde seemed dissapointed with the turn of events.

'If you guys aren't coming, I'm done in a few hours, too.'

'Sweet, wanna go on a coke bender with me then?'

'No coke benders when I'm not with you.' Brick said coldly.

'Fine, then what about we get some sweet cars and just drive on the seaside like crazies? C'mon, you like that.' he ruffled his hair.

A tiny smile crept on Boomer's face.

'Yeah, I do. Ok, then.'

'Brick, we'll meet you guys at that neat cabin in the Alps in two days' time?'

Brick nodded. 'Sounds good. And don't touch that coke.'

'Ok, mom.' Butch rolled his eyes while grabbing his clothes and headed for the exit. 'Boomer, coming? I'll go on your stupid savannah trip if you do Colombia with me.'

'Ye, ok, sure.' Boomer replied hurriedly. 'Have fun, you guys. Cya soon.'

The kitchen was soon empty, and Blossom could feel the tension permeating the air. They hadn't been alone ever since the kitchen fight.

'I like the Louvre, too. I've been a few times, it's a good choice.' he said, his tone softening. 'But, I don't think my brothers would get it.' He got up and drew closer to her.

'Is that why you asked them not to come?' Blossom inquired, slight amusement in her voice.

'That, and other reasons, Red. I want you to have a pleasant experience, through and through.' he murmured, following the line of her jaw with his finger. 'You told me back in Townsville that you don't want to be my partner because we don't know eachother, maybe it's time we get to it.'

'That, among other things.' she couldn't help but mutter under her breath.

'Yes, I know, I've esentially coerced you into joining. Gave you no choice. Bad move on my part, I admit it. I lost my patience after having you once. Needed to have you again.'

'You slaughtered my ex in front of me. You're calling that a 'bad move'? his hand had travelled down to her neck, his touch leaving a burning trail behind.

'Yes, bad move. You weren't ready for it yet.'

**'Yet?**'

'I would have done it eitherway at some point. But one always has to strike at the perfect time. Shouldn't let emotion cloud one's judgement.'

His hand travelled further down, and he slowly started to unbotton her shirt. This one was a red silky blouse, and Brick had gotten her a perfect fit once again.

Blossom felt her breath quickening as he continued unbottoning, ultimately leaving her exposed, only wearing her bra.

His intense look sent shivers down the redhead's spine, blood red eyes almost tearing away at her clothes.

'Why would you have done it eitherway?'Blossom asked harshly, trying to break the spell of his eyes.

'Because you need to let go. You're too tied to the people in this world. You don't realise just how powerful we really are.'

'And couldn't I have done it on my own terms?'

'Everyone needs a guiding hand.' he replied in a hushed tone.

'Or maybe a claw.' Blossom's voice bit into him, his eyes widening in realisation as he sprag away from her.

'Someone told you. Probably Boomer. It's fine, you should know.' he replied, pacing about the room.

It was a rare instance to see him this flustered, she had clearly hit a nerve. Blossom almost felt guilty for pressing on:

'What did you do with Him?'

He smirked, giving her a sideways glance:

'It's the only information you couldn't get from Boomer, what makes you think I'd tell you? '

'You expect me to be honest with you, and yet you're a closed book. And still you dared to lecture me on hypocrisy.'

'Fair enough... you're right. I won't pester you anymore. Keep your thoughts for yourself.' he replied, an annoyed smile adorning his face.

She didn't expect this answer. Whatever it was, it gnawed at him so much he'd rather go against his word for it. She felt compelled to continue:

'Why do you even call me your partner, then? Do you expect me to just pretend Boomer didn't tell me anything?'

'No, I expect you to tactfully ignore topics that don't directly involve you.' he answered, rubbing at his eyes.

'Then I'm clearly not what you're looking for in a partner.' she darkly replied, attempting to return to her room.

'Blossom.'

His tone sounded pleading, much more different than his usual confident self.

'Yes?'she returned to face him, but the softness was already gone from his eyes.

'Nothing.' he strolled back to his room, passing by her hurriedly. 'We're leaving in 10, get ready.'

'_I can't believe I'm going to see the Louvre...with this asshole, ugh!'_

* * *

'What are we doing here in the middle of the night?' They were hoovering high above the Louvre pyramid, slowly descending, the ruff leading the way.

Brick looked back at her and scoffed:

'You didn't expect we'd go in the middle of the day with the other people, did you?'

'How do you plan to get in? I'm not killing anybody, if that's what your suggesting.' Blossom said, crossing her arms together.

'Not that there's anything wrong with killing the guards, but the Paris mayor happens to know me and what I can do. We have an arrangement, I prefer my visits here to be as uneventful as possible.'

They arrived at the entrance, several guards were protecting it. They looked at them curiously, and one of them came forth and addressed Brick:

'Le musée est fermé, monsieur.'

Brick sighed and turned to Blossom.

'They're probably new at the gate, let me take care of this.'

He turned around, grabbed his phone and soon Blossom could hear him dialing a number. After several rings someone responded:

'Yes, Pierre, it's me, Brick. I'm here at the Louvre again. Will you be so kind to tell your guards to let me in? I'm afraid I haven't been here in a while and none of them knows me.'

Brick then approached the guard in charge and passed him the phone:

'Allez! Tu peux parler avec Monsieur Dubois!'

The guard hesitated, but Brick shoved it in his hand before he could accept. He then rose it to his ear and the exchange that followed resulted in confusion, followed by fear and wariness. After a few minutes, the man passed Brick his cellphone back, and the redhead quickly wiped off the sweat that had accumulated from the nervous man's hands.

'Mister Brick, we are honoured to have you and your lovely companion with us at the Louvre tonight.' the guard spoke with a very thick accent.

'We did not know you were coming, otherwise we would have prepared better.' his tone was servile,perhaps trying to make up for failing to recognise him.

'It's fine. Just make sure everyone in the building finds out before we head in.'

'Of course, sir. Enjoy your stay.' He swiftly grabbed his walkie-talkie and started ranting in French, while motioning to them to go in.

Blossom was low-key impressed, she expected more broken bones to be involved in the whole affair.

'What kind of arrangement do you have with the director?' she asked while stepping into the pyramid.

'Nothing fancy, just full acces into the museum at night.'

'How did you convince him?' Blossom looked in awe at her surroundings

'I just told him I'd hunt his family down if he doesn't comply. Then I showed him what I can do. Worked out just fine.'

'Is that your usual method? I expected more death in this scenario.' she gave him a sideways glance.

'I try to avoid it when I can. I happen to enjoy some things that humans produce. Who would make the honey if I killed the bees?' Brick replied with a cocky smile.

'Like they connect the honey each season, I collect art, food and good wine. A fair exchange for their safety.'

'Very shamelessly exploitative.' Blossom felt the need to add.

'They should be glad we choose to keep a low profile. We're merely pilgrims, but we could be tyrants if we chose it.'

'Why didn't you?' Blossom asked, genuinely curious.

'Freedom is more valuable than power.' he simply answered and then he started showing her around.

Brick seemed to know his way around the huge hallways, his enthusism was subdued as he pointed out several works of art that he especially enjoyed.

'How come your father never took you here?

'Guess he didn't think it was a priority.'

The professor had gotten more hermit-like in the last years, working almost every waking hour in his lab. And the girls? They were all so caught up in the fantasy of leading normal lives that they hadn't even considered the possibility. She hadn't, anyway. At some point, after the villains had become scarce, she felt strange for using her powers.

'You never dared to rebell, Miss 'Everything nice'? he teased.

'What am I doing now?'

'Fair point. Daddy must have turned livid when he found out.' he pressed on, attempting to get a reaction out of her.

'Maybe he thinks you captured me.

'Poor Blossom. Although you seem to be enjoying your capture.'

'Hardly.'

Brick pointed out at a statue in the distance, further away on the hallway.

'There it is_, la_ pièce de résistance.'

It was Venus de Milo, even more beautiful and majestic than in the pictures she had seen before.

'Aphrodite... in the artistic vision of Alexander of Antioch.'

The white marble gleamed under the lights, and Blossom almost found herself touching her curves.

_'Breathtaking. Somebody carved these curves, these pleats into stone. And yet they look so soft..'_Brick entangled his hand with hers:

'Come, there's much more to see.'

Blossom's heart fluttered at the thought.

_'This isn't half-bad. He isn't wrong, I've been missing out on a lot. Maybe I should make up for lost time.' _

She followed him, their shadows mimicking their flight on the ornate walls.

* * *

I'd love to hear what you think about it. I have several directions I might take it in, so I would appreciate some feedback.

XOXO


	30. Truce

Hola, friends! I'm hoping you'll find this chapter somewhat interesting!

I'm not usually one for songfics, but I REALLY like The Knife and thought I could maybe see a parallel between Blossick and the two songs I quoted. They're called 'Heartbeats' and 'Pass this On' if you're interested.

Please do tell me if you're still following the story, would appreciate some feedback! I'm aware it's a bit fucked and twisted, but I guess I felt the need to take it there? rr tho

XOXO

* * *

'Did you have a good time?' Brick asked as they strolled on the Champs Elysées.

'Yes, very much so. Thank you.' she returned his smile. It was almost sunrise, Bloosom could see the sunlight attempting to creep in on the horizon..

'The Airbnb I got for us should be close enough. He double checked on his phone.'

'You got us an Airbnb?'

'Yes, it's easier than trying to find a vacant house this close to the city center. And I'm guessing you wanted the whole Paris experience.'

He soon spotted the place, a friendly looking man was waiting for them and waved hello.

'Hello, Mr Taylor? I'm Jacques, we spoke on the phone yesterday.'

'Yes, good morning, Jacques. I suppose everything has been adequately prepared for my arrival?

'Of course. Everything that you asked for is inside. Here is the key. I will come to retrieve it when you're ready to leave. I hope your stay with us is pleasant.'

Blossom's jaw dropped as they entered the apartment, she had never seen one decorated with such taste before. Hardwood floors, elegant furniture and tapestry, all of it clearly inspired by art déco. A small balcony opened into Champs Elysées, the Eiffel tower completing the view.

'Are you hungry? I asked him to bring us some appetizers and wine.'

'Oh..Blossom nodded, eyeing the several types of cheese, croissants and meat on the kitchen table.

'You can also take a bath here, I know the Iceland cottage only has a shower.'

He was right, she did prefer baths, and this tub seemed spacious and luxurious. Aside from the tub itself, several types of bath bombs were placed on its edge.

'I know you like it.' a sly smile appeared on his face as he dug into a slice of cheese.

'Why are you so sure?'

'Because **_I_** like it. I enjoy quality, luxury goods. We're similar. We have high standards.'

Blossom squinted at him:

'That's very presumptuous of you. I like to think I'm not that shallow and wealth obsessed.'

'Nothing shallow about enjoying life. Do you think it gives it extra depth if you serve it with a side of tedium and suffering? No, it only makes it worse.' he added, opening a bottle of wine and pouring it in two nearby glasses.

Blossom took it and reluctantly had a small sip.

_'Damn, it's REALLY good. Should have some of that cheese, too.'_

She grabbed a piece and went on the balcony, a small table for two was conveniently placed there. People and cars had started flooding the street, as it was a weekday.

_'Does it even matter what day it is? Their lifestyle is a perpetual vacation. Might as well enjoy the ride.'_

She looked at the people below, some likely tourists, some hurriedly going to work. It was interesting to witness such a vibrant city stepping into motion.

She took the glass to her lips and realised in shock that she had finished it. Stepping back inside she noticed Brick had started browsing into the vinyl record library.

'They've got a good collection here.' 'Oh, he exclaimed. 'Didn't expect to find this . 'Do you know The Knife?' Brick asked, grabbing the disc and making it for the vinyl player.

'I don't think so.'

'I think you'll love them. Only found out about them recently.' the disk started playing, playful synth filling the air.

'So, you like electronic music? she asked, her foot starting to mimick the rhytm.

'Among other things, yes. I don't have favourites. How about you? he encircled her waist and started swaying to the music.

'I think I like jazz the most, John Coltrane is probably my favourite.'

**_'To call for hands of above_**

**_To lean on_**

**_Wouldn't be good enough_**

**_For me, no'_**

'What is the song about?' Blossom asked, not knowing if the warmth she felt in her chest was from the wine or his proximity.

'I think this one is about unlikely lovers.' he whispered in her hair.

Blossom felt light-headed as the upbeat synths kept playing, Brick's hands now resting on her hips as they danced.

It was hard not to stare in his eyes, their unusual color had her ensorcelled. His hair was tied in a messy bun, a few rogue strands framed his face, and he sometimes ran his hands through it when it got in his eyes.

'Why don't you tie it again since it keeps slipping?' Blossom felt the courage to ask in her tipsiness.

'Wouldn't it kill the mood if I stopped to do that now?' he replied as they continued swaying.

'Do you think the mood's that fragile?' she asked playfully.

'I'm not taking any chances.'

'You could just take it out altogether.' she swiftly reached for his tie and the red hair cascaded on his back.

_'Oh, no. Why does he have to look... like **this**?'_

Another song started, and Brick got closer and closer, their bodies now touching, holding her tight, his hands firmly on the small of her back.

'Never thought I would slow dance on electronica.' she mumbled in his ear. Blossom felt him smiling against her cheek.

'You can slow dance on anything as long as you've got the right partner.'

**_'I wasn't really looking for some more than_**

**_Some company on the dancefloor and_**

**_Does he know what I do and_**

**_You'll pass this on, won't you and?_**

**_If I ask him once,_**

**_What would he say?_**

**_Is he willing, can he play?'_**'

'Can you play?' she heard Brick's husky voice in her ear. Blossom broke the embrace to face him, and before she could look him in the eye his lips crashed into hers hungrily.

She could feel herself losing any semblance of self-restraint as his hands grabbed her all over: her hair, travelled along her back and dug into her hips.

She grabbed into his hair to steady herself, but he had picked her up and was already taking her to bed.

Laying Blossom on her back, he bent over to reach her mouth and deepened their kiss, their tongues fighting for dominance. He straddled her and took this time to remove his shirt, then noticed Blossom was staring at him in shock as if she had had an epiphany.

'Are you in awe of my naked body, or what?'

Blossom swiftly got out of the bed, almost toppling him over.

'I don't want to ruin this apartment.'

Brick initially seemed dumbfounded, then laughed hysterically as he realised the implication.

'You're not being serious. I'll pay the guy for the damage. This is what you're thinking about now?'

'No, I don't want to destroy it like we did with the Italian villa! ' Blossom snapped, crossing her arms together.

'You didn't seem to mind it then, Miss New-Skylight-in-the roof!

'It was an empty summer villa, this is an apartment complex. People live here on this block, they might be hurt or even die if anything happened.'

'You, with the fucking humans again! he interrupted, seemingly exasperated. Blossom sat herself on the edge of the bed, avoiding his gaze.

'Fine, have it your way, then.' he said, putting his shirt back on. 'I'm not forcing myself on you, if that's what you're thinking.' he erupted at her.

'And I'm supposed to be extra grateful for that? Well, at least he's not a rapist, thank God!' she bit back at him.

Brick got closer to her, his eyes shooting daggers:

'Then, tell me, Blossom, if you find me so despicable , why did you respond to my advances? Surely, Miss Everything Nice must have better taste, yes?'

'...It's hormones...I'm physically attracted to you.'

'So you're telling me you don't feel anything in me that draws you in? Nothing? Boomer and Butch are my twins, do you wanna fuck them too?'

'No, I..'

'Because if you do, don't let me stand in your way. I'm sure they're more than willing to assist you.'

'Stop.' she said sharply, looking down and clenching her fists.

He attempted to make it to the window, but she grabbed his hand and murmured under her breath:

'I am attracted to you. More than your looks.'

His gaze softened as he sat next to her on the bed.

'That doesn't mean I don't chastise myself for it daily. ' she slowly raised her head to meet his gaze.

'Some advanced form of self-loathing you're practicing there.' he whispered, cupping her brow.

'It's only justified. You treat people like commodities.' she replied blankly.

'This again. It's getting a little old, don't you think?' he continued in the same strangely soothing tone.

His eyes had caught hers, Blossom felt something softening in his look and dared to say:

'Maybe you should try meeting me halfway.'

'How do you suggest I do that?' he kept stroking her brow.

'Not killing or harming people would be a start.'

'I think I already solve my problems through different means in most cases, simply out of convenience. Have you seen me killing anyone ever since you joined?'

'But Townsville..'

'In Townsville I wanted to prove a point. I don't care for human life and neither should you. I told you, I treat them like they treat their bees or cattle. They're not worth us sacrificing our time and lives over. Humans are spiteful, pitiful creatures who **_will_** throw you under the buss as soon as your existence inconveniences them, as soon as your existence endangers one of their own. '

A flame was lit in Blossom's eyes as she spat at him:

'You didn't change my mind. If anything, you managed to draw a wedge between us that wouldn't have been there if you hadn't been so violent.'

'Would you have preferred for me to hide my true self? Come to your college in disguise, dazzle you, make you fall in love with me and then reveal it all?' he said, seemingly amused by the prospect.

Blossom looked away, then asked gravely:

'Did you really need to kill all those people?'

'I had to show you somehow that they don't deserve you!'

'And you do? Just because we both can shoot lasers through our eyes?' she yelled, waving her hands in frustration.

'We're the ONLY ONES DOING IT. So, yes, I do.' Brick replied in exasperation and began to walk around the room.

'What about Alex? Why kill him specifically? I'm sure his death had a role in your philosophical mumbo-jumbo.' he sneered at him.

'Yes it did! I told you before, you need to let go of your human attachments.'

'Human attachments, eh? And you conveniently went straight for my ex!'

'I merely crushed an ant. A trembling boy. He was nothing. You don't see the lion repenting for killing a gazelle.'

Blossom interjected, feeling that she had reached her wits' end:

'Why is it so damn hard for you to accept that you cannot change my opinion about people? You've been at it for quite some time and it's **NOT** working the way you expected. Only a fool would persevere with something proven to be wrong time and time again.'

A long pause followed, Brick pacing up and down the room like a caged lion. He stopped at times to glance outside, at some point he realised the disc was still playing, so he paused it suddenly, almost damaging its delicate surface. Blossom studied him intently, a slew of emotions passed on his face in the span of a few minutes, one could even liken them to the five stages of grief, it was almost comical.

At some point then Brick turned his head and looked at her:

'Wait here, please.'

He swiftly went out the window leaving Blossom dumbfounded. She stood on the bed for a few minutes, still processing the conversation, then paced about the room, occasionally looking out the window.

After an hour she realised he's not coming back too soon and decided to draw herself a bath. She dropped one of the bath bombs in, and the delicate scent of lavender enveloped her. Blossom slipped in, finally feeling the storm in her mind subsiding, and a single stream of thought slowly started unraveling.

_'Where the hell did he go?'_

The image of Brick attacking Townsville entered her mind, but then she remembered his promise.

_'He wouldn't. I'm still with him. Theoretically at least.'_

_'Where is he then? This is taking an awful lot of time. Maybe he went to look for his brothers.'_

Blossom started washing her body, starting with her hair then methodically cleaning all of her limbs. A glimpse of his sweaty torso suddenly burned on her brain, her hands appearing in the fantasy, lathering him up.

_'Jesus, Blossom, get a fucking grip.'_

To avoid any further scenarios, she dried herself up, ate some more of the cheese then hopped in bed, anxiously waiting for his return. Several hours passed by, her brain was boiling from the anticipation. Blossom felt exhausted from all the mental energy she had expended, her eyelids were attempting to close every few seconds. The redhead opened the TV, trying to bypass the overwhelming desire to sleep. She soldiered on, anxiety keeping her alert.

It was almost midnight when Brick flew in panting, his clothes and hair in disarray. He looked around in panic until he noticed her hiding under the covers and opened his mouth to release an avalanche of words:

'Fine, I admit to maybe it not being the best tactic to get you to join me. Hurting humans, that is.'

Blossom was shocked, the last thing she'd expected was for him to finally take her rant into consideration. She came from under the covers and approached him.

'I didn't expect for you to be so...'He pinched his forehead in frustration. '...self flagellating. I thought you'd have enough of their nasty, self-entitled behavior and finally see the light.'

'Entitled behavior? Says the man who waltzed in and demanded I join him just because.'

'Because we're kindred.' he finished her sentence. 'And because we can handle eachother like nobody else can. But, yes, that was entitled of me, as well. I see why you wouldn't respond well to that. I should have tried to convince you in other ways.'

'Do you reckon we can agree to disagree?' he said tentatively, looking at her in expectation.

Blossom furrowed his brow at him: 'What does that entail?'

'You can keep your affinity for humans as long as it doesn't interfere with our wellbeing. Meaning: you will never choose humans over us.' he casually motioned towards himself.

'And what's **your** contribution ?'

'I will not kill or harm any humans from now on, I will only...collect what I need.'

Blossom was skeptical, she had never expected to have this conversation with him, and never in such civil terms.

'But you havent changed your mind about people.'

'No, I haven't, of course. But I will do this, because it pleases you. For **_our_** sake. It's...a compromise.'

'What about Butch?' Blossom couldn't help herself from asking.

'What about him?'

'Will he continue hurting people?'

'You know I can't vouch for my brother's behavior. I **_can_** vouch for what he does when we're together, but I can't supervise him 24/7. I'm guessing it's the same with you and your sister.'

Blossom nodded and swallowed the saliva that had pooled in her mouth:

'You're not wrong about that.'

He approached the redhead and tucked a rogue strand of hair behind her ear.

'Is that acceptable for you, Blossom? Can you live with that?'

'Can you?' she retorted.

'I'll try. We'll see how it goes.'

The kiss that followed overwhelmed her senses, it was gentler than usual and he took his time to explore her mouth.

'I can try.' she drew her breath, and Brick seized her lips again, his scent intoxicating her.

She felt a pang of guilt, Blossom remembered the promise back home, what awaited for her at the end of the month. A mixture of dread and excitement engulfed her, the thought of Antidote X loomed above her head as she gave into Brick's embrace.


	31. Spat

'How was Paris?' Was it everything you dreamed of ever since you were a little girl?' Butch asked mockingly.

'Great, I'm sure you would have loved it. I bet Butchie wants nothing more than to share a croissant with the love of his life while paddling away on the Seine in a boat for two.' she flashed the ruff a sweet smile while reaching for the pot of fresh cheese near him.

'You can't turn this against me, Flossy. I'm not the one who chose the sissiest place on the planet to visit.

'No ,instead you just went on a cocaine hunt, like the brute that you are.'

'Can't judge it till you've tried it, sweetheart. Just so you know, you sniff it, you don't eat it. In case you ever get tempted.' he winked, exemplifying the sniffing motion to her.

'You're too kind. I highly doubt I'll ever be tempted.' Blossom winked back.

'When you two are done flirting, you should get some of that wood from the garden and get a fire started.' Brick interjected, pouring himself a glass of fresh milk.

'Jealous much, Brick? I'm sorry I'm the only one who can truly entertain your woman, you sad, sorry, depressing fuck.' he lounged back in his chair.

'Whatever makes you feel better about yourself, brother. ' he replied flatly, taking a sip.

'Boomer, aren't you hungry?' the redhead cocked his head at his younger brother who hadn't touched any of the food yet.

'I'm alright.'

He was hard to read, it reminded Blossom of the Boomer she had talked to back in Townsville: Flat, barely responsive.

'No, tell me.' Brick inquired, raising his brow.

'It's the usual thing.The same problem.' he humored Brick with an answer. He did it with such tedium though, that Blossom could barely believe he was the same teen who she had shared those sunny afternoons with.

'We've talked about this, Boomer.' Brick seemed weary as he reprimanded the younger ruff.

'I know, I know. But you asked.' the blonde said dismissively.

Blossom's eyes roamed from one to another, trying to make sense of the situation.

'Would it help if we stayed for two weeks somewhere you like? We could go that long without raising suspicion. But it needs to be somewhat remote.'

'I think it might help.' he cheered up a little bit.

'I honestly don't know what your fucking problem is, Boomer. This is THE LIFE.' Butch exclaimed, biting into a piece of home made sausage.

Boomer merely bowed his head in response, avoiding his brother's gaze.

Butch noticed how confused Blossom was by this exchange, so he took it upon himself to shed some light on the situation.

'He gets like that sometimes. You know...depresso. He's tired of moving around, wants to settle down somewhere and adopt 20 dogs or some stupid shit like that.'

'Oh, I see.' Blossom replied, watching the blonde getting redder under his brothers' scrutiny.

'Only we can't. Can't afford being traced. We never stay too long somewhere and we avoid attracting attention on us. Well, except for the stunts we did in Townsville.'

'Because we were already known there. We weren't such an exotic sight there. Precedent existed.' Brick added matter-of-factly.

'But that can't happen anywhere else. Whispers and rumors about are fine, yes. But having the whole world at our heels is...inconvenient. Keeps you on edge at all times. And I enjoy my peace.' he continued, pouring himself another glass.

'It's how you can keep your lifestyle going.' Blossom concluded, finding confirmation in his eyes.

'Bingo!' Butch pointed finger guns at her.

An uncomfortable pause ensued, and eventually Blossom dared to speak:

'You might not like to hear it, but if you chose to use your powers less, or even live like normal people this wouldn't be a problem.'

Butch's laugh roared in the kitchen:

'Very funny, Flossy, I gotta give it to you. Way better sense of humor than KillJoy over here.' he pointed towards Brick. 'Hilarious, I almost choked on that sausage.'

'Boomer.' Brick's cool voice reverberated through the air.

'Where do you want to go tomorrow? Entirely up to you, respecting my conditions of course.'

'Somewhere warm.' he responded, shuddering as he rubbed his hands together. 'Next to the sea or the ocean... 'Small Pacific island? We could settle on one of the smaller uninhabited ones and get supplies from a main island.'

'Any housing?' Brick inquired.

'I could use the local trees make one of those huts..'

'No.' Brick interrupted.

'Why not?' he didn't make any effort to hide the dissapointment in his voice.

'I'm not shitting on the beach for two weeks, Boomer. And I'm not flying to the mainland every time I have to shit or take a shower.'

'How often do you have to shit, exactly?' Butch turned towards him, fake concern in his voice.

'I'm not a constipated crackhead, so probably more than you.' Brick shot him down.

'At least the bare minimum comfort, please, Boomer. Showers, beds,indoor toilet, electricity. Don't forget we have Blossom with us now.'

'I haven't seen her complaining, Brick. You're the only one here winging about shithouses.' Butch taunted him, raising her eyebrows at Blossom.

'Toilets would be nice. And showers.' Blossom quickly chimed in, dreading the prospect of two weeks of wilderness.

'Bunch of pansies. I'm with you, Blondie. Let's make those huts. I wanna watch these princesses squeal.'

Boomer ignored him and once again addressed Brick:

'We could try one of those tiny private islands owned by rich people. They usually just have one super fancy house per island.'

'We can't silence the guards for two weeks. Correction: we could, but it would be very troublesome.'

'Silence the guards for two weeks? Why just silence them when we can **_permanently_** **_silence_** them?' Butch seemed genuinely surprised to not see it presented as an option.

'We won't kill or hurt humans from now on.' Brick said simply, as if stating an axiom.

Butch and Boomer both gave him curious looks, unsure if they heard him correctly.

'Did you just say 'We won't kill humans from now'? Cause I'm not sure if I heard that right.'

'Yes, you heard that right, Butch. No humans will be hurt in my presence.'

The room had gotten so still you could even hear the melting rooftop icicles dripping into the snow outside.

'What's this about, Brick? What happened? Doesn't sound like something you'd say.'

Boomer was quiet, taking furtive glances at Blossom.

Butch motioned his head at her:

'This is your doing, isn't it, Flossy?'

She gulped and looked at Brick, waiting for his reaction.

'I don't owe you any explanation, Butch. Before you press on, do you need me to remind you of what I have done for you?'

Butch turned his head to the side and began shaking it , a strange half- smile creeping on his face.

'Fine. No human killing from now on.' he eventually said, in a strained, faux-cheerful tone. '_In your presence_.'

'You know, Butch.' Brick leaned in towards the green ruff, pining him down with an icy glare. 'When you're like us, there isn't much you can't do in this world through intimidation and manipulation. You should try honing those skills. It'll do you good.'

'Oh, and it's working alright for you? Cause I sure see a lot of backfire going on.' he motioned towards Blossom.

'Careful, Butch. Treading on thin ice there.' Brick sneered at his brother, his jaw tightening.

'Whoa, whoa. Relax, bro. I'm just curious, that's all.'

The atmosphere was visibly tense, Butch eyeing Blossom up and down menacingly.

_'If glares could kill, I would already be dead and buried. He's definitely not letting this go.'_

'Maybe we could scout the islands for a decent summer home that isn't protected? Boomer pitched in, successfully ignoring the charged atmosphere.

'Highly unlikely we find one, but we should look. Worst case scenario - we rent so we make sure we aren't disturbed. But I always prefer not burning through our money.'

'Cool!' Boomer exclaimed, having regained some of his energy.

'Can you two get the firewood like I asked? I'll be back tonight, I've got some urgent stuff to take care of.' Brick said, seemingly troubled.

'Oh, we're getting the wood, alright.' Butch replied, a sly smile appearing on his face.

'I hope you have enough sense in you not to do anything stupid, Butch.'

Brick massaged at his temples, closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths. Blossom wondered if this apparent headache was a direct result of the conversation they had just had.

'I need to go now. See you later.' he left in a flash of red, leaving his brothers and a confused Blossom at the kitchen table.

'Well, well, well, Flossy...' Butch grinned sadistically, trying to get a rise out of her.

_'Well, shit.' _

* * *

I hoped you liked this ruff centric chapter! Butch is so damn fun to write! Might be, I daresay...my favourite character: O.O

️Brick and Blossom prepairing their pitchforks in the background️*


	32. Reaction

'Must be some out of this world pussy you're giving him, Pinkie.'

'Cut it out, Butch' Boomer intervened, starting to clean out the table.

'Dont tell me, she's servicing you, too? Am I the only one left out?' Butch sneered at Blossom, trying to get a reaction out of her. Her jaw visibly tensed as she squinted her eyes and replied slowly, in a bone-chilling tone:

'How dare you talk to me like that?'

Her hands clenched into fists, turning a strange white hue.

'It's a joke, not a dick, why are you taking it so hard?' Butch responded , a malicious twinkle gleaming in his eyes.

Blossom attempted to steady her breathing, growing more red with anger by the minute.

'Wanna take it outside, Flossy? You look like you need to cool off a little.'

' You won't provoke me. Unlike you, I have a semblance of self-control.' she spat between her teeth.

'Ah, you do? Didn't look like that the other day when you were going at it like rabbits.' he taunted her.' Put me on the waiting list, maybe your pussy can help me. I wanna be a good guy, too.'

_'Don't lose it, Blossom. don't lose it. dontloseitdontloseit'_'

'I say we take it outside.' Butch grinned sadistically, opening the nearby window, then extending an arm towards her.

'I'm **not **doing this, Butch.' Blossom retorted, trying to regain her composture.

'Who said you have a choice in it?' he forcibly grabbed her hand and dashed off through the snow in a mix of pink and green.

'Fuck, Butch, don't.' Boomer's voice rang from the house, then he followed their trail.

Butch yanked her by the hand and hit her in the chin with his knee, sending her flying face down into the snow across the garden.

'_Fuck_.' she felt a crack as she tried to open her jaw, something was badly broken. Blood started flowing out of her mouth, she'd almost bitten her tongue off.

'Relax, Flossy. I won't fuck you up. Just rough you up a little for pussy-whipping my brother.' Butch shouted from the distance.

Blossom felt a helping hand touching her back:

'Brick is not going to like this.' he murmured, looking at all the blood. 'I'll help you, we can take him on together.'

'Thanks.' she managed to mouth.

Butch approached them both, seemingly amused.

'Look, man, stop. Brick's gonna lose his marbles when he sees you hurt her.' Boomer tried to reason with him, extending his hands in front of Butch as a sign of peace.

'You think you can fight me, Boomer? Really, you?' he let out a guttural laugh.

'Maybe not alone, but we can do it together.' he glanced towards Blossom.

'The more, the merrier!' he exclaimed as he clashed in them both, sending them deeper in the ground.

What followed was a tornado of pink, green and blue. It was hard to tell where a punch ended and another one started. Blossom barely managed to disentangle herself from the vortex before Butch activated a powerful electrical field that sent Boomer's body into a wave of convulsions. As Boomer laid twitching on the ground, the green ruff caught up with Blossom, locking her in an embrace.

'Listen, bitch! I don't know what the fuck you did to Brick, but I'm going to make your life a living hell if you keep at it.' he cackled in her year.

Blossom struggled to escape as he felt him crushing her body harder and harder, barely being able to take a breath.

A flash of realisation passed on her face and she focused, feeling her skin growing warmer by the second, eventually causing an explosion that sent Butch's battered body across the garden.

She turned around and noticed Boomer standing next to her, looking worse for the wear.

'Cool move.' he half-smiled at her.

'Thanks. Let's check up on him.' Blossom suggested, approaching Butch's crash site.

They got to him as he was getting up, the flesh of his face and torso burned to a crisp.

'Bringing out the big guns, ey, Blossy?' he mocked her, removing some of the charred remains of his skin.

'I don't want to continue this. Unless you want me to burn your back as well.' Blossom felt a satisfied smile curling up her lips.

'Yeah, Butch... let's just get the wood. I don't want to piss Brick off.'

Butch glanced a bit from one to the other, ultimately giving in.

'Alright...You get a pass today. But watch your back, Flossy.' he turned his back on them and made it towards the house.

'Where do you think you're going? You need to help us.' Blossom yelled, but he successfully ignored her, entering the kitchen via open window.

'Let him be. He's pissed.' Boomer pleaded, already scouting for firewood.

'That doesn't mean he can get a pass from chores.' Blossom insisted.

'It does when you're Butch.' he concluded, picking up a comically large piece of wood nearby and breaking it into logs.

Blossom took a long gaze at the blonde teen as he methodically broke off smaller and smaller pieces:

'How can you stand them, honestly?'

Boomer looked up at her and chuckled in response:

'They're my brothers, if I don't who's gonna?'

'Fair point. But if you don't tell them what bothers you nothing's ever going to change.'

'I guess you're right. It's just that it's easier for me to go with the flow, you know?'

More times passed as they gathered the wood, it was piling up nicely, they wouldn't need much more than that.

'Thanks, by the way.' Boomer casually said.

'For what?'

'I never liked killing... sometimes I had to do it, tho. I never could really... talk to them about it. So...thanks.' he smiled shyly at her.

'No problem.' she responded, eyeing him curiously.

They managed to get enough firewood to last them for the night. They got a fire going and Blossom scouted the rooms for a decent bed to sleep in. The cabin was small, and it only had two bunk beds in each room, only four places to sleep in in total. She found Butch in one of them, playing some sort of game on his phone as his flesh healed.

'How you doing? Who's done that to you? You look a lil rough around the edges.' he pointed at her face, suppressing a laugh.

'At least I have edges left, yours are burnt to a crisp.' Blossom retorted, going back to the other room.

She chose the bottom bed and snuck under the covers. The fire hadn't kicked in yet, so the temperature was still fairly unpleasant. Her tongue had healed, but her jaw was still sore, it would probably take a few more hours to mend properly. A little shut-eye couldn't hurt, so she closed her eyes and eventually dozed off to sleep.

She was woken up by the sound of someone flying in. It was already dark, and she could barely see who it was. However, it was hard to mistake Brick's distinctive voice for anything else.

'Hey.' Blossom said, rubbing her eyes of sleep. 'How late is it?'

'2 AM.' he simply answered, sitting next to her on the bed.

'Where were you? You left in a real rush.'

'Privacy, Blossom. I told you before. ' he looked her in the eye, seemingly exhausted. 'How was your day? I see you managed to warm up the place.'

' That, AND getting attacked by your brother.' Blossom added bitterly.

'I would have been surprised if he didn't do that, honestly. He tends to try to solve his problems in a physical manner. I wouldn't have left you with him if I didn't know Boomer was here to help.' Brick replied, rubbing at his eyes.

'You left knowing he would attack?'Blossom inquired, slightly annoyed.

'I knew it to be a possibility.' he defended himself. 'I needed to leave, couldn't have postponed it for more than a few hours.' he paused and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

'You've put me in a difficult position, Red.' he murmured.

'And you haven't?' she retorted softly, the trace of his touch burning on her cheek.

'I guess that makes two of us.' he lightly stroked her lower lip with his thumb.

_'Why does he have to look at me like that?'_

His gaze was clouded over, she could tell he was staring at her lips.

'I wasn't wrong.' he confessed, drawing out the words.

'...?'

'When I told you you were perfect. Not just objectively. But also for me. I regret nothing.'

He looked her in the eyes, his intense gaze sending shivers down her spine.

'I want us to travel, to learn, to experience this life together. I don't mind a few hiccups along the way.' he broke eye contact and turned to the side.' We might outlive all of them all anyway.'

_'Outlive them all..? Could he mean Chemical X?'_

The thought had casually passed her mind before as well, she wondered if the X that had such regenerative properties might allow them to live forever. But she had quickly brushed it off, her college work had seemed more important at the time.

'It's only a theory, but I have my reasons to suspect that we will develop to maturity and stay like that forever. But time will tell.' Brick said, giving her a lopsided smile.

' It could be right, I've considered it, too.'

'If that's the case we've got our work cut out for us. Hand in hand until the Earth is old and withered. And beyond.' he said, closing the space between them with a chaste kiss.

Blossom felt her heart speeding up, if she didn't know better she'd think it would burst. He was sitting far too close, and saying all of these things..

'Why are you so...?'

'Amazing?' he interjected playfully.

'...frustrating.' she finished, letting out a sigh.

'What do you mean by that?' he teased her, getting even closer.

'You ...confuse me.' she replied slowly, distracted by the feeling of his breath on her neck.

'On the contrary, I think I've made my intentions clear from the beginning.' he murmured, nibbling on her ear.

Blossom could feel warmth pooling up in her sex, she gasped as he slipped his hand under her shirt.

'It's not about your intentions.' she managed to concentrate enough to reply.

'I know.' he added, taking off her pants just enough so he could have access to her core.

'What do you know..?' she gasped as he massaged her through her underwear.

'It's about your feelings for me. You don't know what to feel.'

'That's not tr..' she attempted to say, but Brick had already moved her panties to the side and slipped a finger in her folds.

'But ..Butch, Boomer.' she attempted to say, but he covered her mouth with his other hand.

'I'll be very quiet this time.'

She nodded as she felt him spread her lips wide then went above them to tease her clit.

'Lie down.' he whispered, and she obeyed, his hand stil on her mouth.

He started using her juices to massage her clit with his fingers. He looked her in the eyes as he proceeded with the sweet torture, muffling her moans with his hand. He grinned in satisfaction as he witnessed her eyes rolling over in ecstasy.

Blossom felt she could burst, waves of pleasures overcame her as he continued stroking.

'I'm starting to really grow on you. And it scares you.' he said, slipping a finger in her core, then another one.

She moaned as he pumped his fingers into her, massaging her walls. He tried different motions, testing her reactions, insisting where he saw her responding enthusiastically.

Bloosom felt the familiar warmth, then s surge of electricity unloaded into Brick's arm. He managed to suppress the subsequent twitch, then he took a look at his hand, adorned with a fresh red lightning shaped mark.

He uncovered her mouth:

'I told you I'll be quiet.' and he planted a long, hungry kiss on Blossom's lips.

'Frustrating.' she replied, shaking her head.

'Goodnight.' he grinned and jumped in the bed above her.

_'What if he's right about my feelings..? I'm in big trouble.'_

* * *

Thanks for the reviews 3. I hold them all very dear! I hope you're enjoying the story so far!


	33. Date

'There isn't any unguarded house, Brick.' Boomer said as they landed on the sand of a larger island.

'You don't need to say that again, I think we've all seen it with our own eyes.' Brick retorted, slightly irritated.

'What do we do then? Didn't you say we could rent..?' Blossom dared to ask, looking away in the distance. Her stomach growled, it was already afternoon, they had been at it since the early hours of the morning.

'I've looked online, the prices for houses that fulfill both our desired level of privacy and comfort are above 500$ a night. We could do that, but I'd rather we did it if there isn't any option left.'

'I say we go the silencing way. Didn't you say that I should threaten and manipulate more? Or you could prepare not to look while I silence them the old-fashioned way.' Butch grinned sadistically.

'First of all, I'm going to pretend I didn't hear the last part.' Brick retorted, sending him a biting look. 'Secondly, how do you know they'll keep their mouths shut for two weeks, Butch? What if they send people after us? I'm not that sweet on being disturbed in the middle of the night by humans.'

'We could just stuff them all in a room.' Butch suggested.

' And live with the stress of having to provide food for them and bathroom breaks so they don't stink up the place? No, thanks.' Brick replied irritated, pacing up and down the beach.

'Don't you have any... acquaintance that could provide for us?' Blossom intervened.

'I do, but I don't wanna risk them knowing our location for two full weeks. I don't fully trust my... associates.'

An uncomfortable silence fell over them as Brick paced up and down the shore.

'Why are you so uncomfortable with renting?You most likely have the money, stolen or not.' Blossom dared to ask.

He gave her a strange look then continued pacing. Boomer answered in his stead:

'We've never really rented anything in our life. We just...take.'

'Yea, Flossy, and there's never been a problem with that until you came along with your magic cunt.' Butch taunted, and in the next second Brick was at his neck, grabbing him by the lapels.

'I thought we already talked about this, Butch.' he confronted him, seemingly cool and collected.

'Yeah, man, sure.' he hissed through gritted teeth.

'We'll rent one of the private islands.' Brick sighed, letting go of his brother. 'Boomer, this better be worth it for you.'

He started texting and moved further up on the beach to have enough privacy to make the necessary calls.

'Yeah, Boomer, you'd better enjoy this. I'm kinda tired of this stupid act of yours. Just get a fucking grip already.'

Boomer just looked away in the distance, avoiding his brother's gaze.

'I'm sorry, but if you and Brick are both so...against Boomer's preferences, why don't you just let him live by himself for a while? He could just live as a normal person and not attract any attention towards himself.' Blossom dared to say, gazing earnestly into Butch's eyes.

Boomer took a look at her, shaking his head, a blank look in his eyes. Butch replied, slightly amused:

'Wait a minute...are you trying to separate us, puff? Cause it sure seems like it.'

'No, I'm just saying...' Blossom started, but soon got interrupted.

'Shit, it's more serious than I thought. Now you're trying to separate us so we're easier to capture. Well, think again, shitface, because we're **BROTHERS**.' he barked back, nearly shouting the last word.

'We stick together no matter what. You can't break a blood bond like ours.' he theatrically punched his own chest. 'Of course, you wouldn't understand that since you left your sisters for Brick.' Butch said sharply, hoping for a reaction.

Blossom felt a pang of guilt in her chest, and desperately tried not to retort.

'Cut it out, Butch. You're making her feel uncomfortable.' Boomer muttered under his breath.

'Oh, she deserves to feel uncomfortable. You're not one of us, Flossy, let it be clear. I've got my eyes on you.' he pointed two fingers at his eyes and then at her.

'It's fine, if I ever got on your good side I'd take it as a sign that something is seriously wrong with me.' Blossom retorted giving him a biting smile.

Brick returned, still texting on his phone.

'I've got us a private island for the next two weeks, I've made sure it's well stacked so we wouldn't have to leave that often. It's cost an embarrassing amount of money, but I think it's adequate enough for our needs. I made sure the staff is absent for our stay. Apparently it's ready for us in a few hours.'

'Great!' Boomer replied enthusiastically. 'When do we leave?'

'Is there anything special you think you might need during the stay? I don't want us to leave the island that often.'

'We should get stacked up on pills and booze, Brick. If I'm stuck there I might as well have a good time.' he winked at Blossom, giving her a lewd smile.

'Fine, I'll send you the exact coordinates. You guys can go get the pills, I'll keep Blossom with me, we'll meet you there in about three hours.'

'I hope you'll miss me, sweet cheeks.' Butch mockingly waved her goodbye as he grabbed Boomer and left.

As he watched them go, Brick started hovering himself above the sand, grabbing his counterpart's hand:

'Are you alright? You seem very tired.' he asked, eyeing her curiously.

'I'm fine, just hungry.'

'We could get a bite before reaching the island. Does Japan sound good to you?'

_'Yet another country you haven't visited yet, Blossom.' _

'Sure, fine by me. Lead the way.'

He casually grabbed her close and gave her a quick peck on the lips. This made Blossom shiver, somehow that simple peck implied more intimacy than his long, hungry kisses.

They left the beach together, flying hand in hand and reached the Japanese southern coast in no time. They landed on the edges of what seemed like a fishing town.

'Sashimi? Do you like it? I feel like having some.' Brick turned towards her, gripping her hand tighter.

She felt bad to admit that she'd only had store bought sushi, nobody in her family was particularly fond of fish, not enough to actually go to a fancy restaurant, anyway.

'I haven't had any, but I could try some, why not?'she replied, keeping up with his pace.

'If I didn't know better, I'd say you bring up stuff I haven't tried yet to make me feel inadequate.' she probed him, waiting for a reaction.

He smirked, not turning to meet her gaze:

'I'm glad you know better, then.'

Brick checked his phone for nearby restaurants, and they soon arrived at the entrance of a small, cozy restaurant. The few people sitting at the tables outside eyed them up and down, they clearly weren't used to such a sight: two young, redheaded foreigners visiting their small village.

'You can wait here. I'm going inside to talk to the owner and the chef.'

Blossom gulped and nodded in agreement. She wondered if he would threaten them or just ask for a menu. Knowing him, probably the former.

She sat down at an empty table as the elderly men studied her. The establishment was tiny, it was clearly not meant for foreigners, so she did feel slightly uneasy until Brick made his way back to her.

He stood across from her and enthusiastically said:

'We're getting sashimi. Tuna sashimi served with wasabi and soy sauce, to be precise.'

She had never seen him so giddy, somehow watching him get this excited about food seemed weird.

_'Why is it weird? You don't know him at all. For all you know he might be playing with Barbie dolls in his spare time and you wouldn't know.'_

'What's your favourite food?' she found herself blurting out:

Brick squinted his eyes at her, seemingly confused.

'Forgive me, but...why the sudden interest in trivial details concerning me? Are we past the existential philosophical questions? Nearing the boring old couple stage of our relationship?' he teased her, folding his hands together.

'Yes, you bore me to tears with your villain speeches, I'd rather hear something more human every once in a while. You know how fond I am of them.' she teased back, taking Brick by surprise.

'Fair enough. I like pizza the most.' he replied casually, playing with the cuff of his shirt.

'Pizza??!?' she exclaimed, not attempting to hide her shock.

'Yeah, pizza. What about it?' he quickly asked, his cool façade cracking.

'Oh, nothing, mine's probably pizza, too. I just didn't expect it.'

'I know. You think that I wouldn't go for something as trivial considering how many different things I've tried.' he replied, regaining his composure. 'But some things never change.' he said pensively.

He snapped out of it and addressed a question of his own:

'Favourite sister?' his blood red eyes bore into hers.

'You can't seriously ask that.' Blossom shifted uncomfortably in her seat.

'I can and I just did. Tell me.' he insisted, touching one of her hands.

'I don't have one.'

'Don't lie. Everyone has one, don't you think they do?'

'I stand by my answer.' Blossom replied, a half-smile curling up her lip.' What about you?'

'Boomer' he simply answered, folding his arms behind his head.

'Why?'

'He's hard not to love, you've seen it yourself. And Butch is, quite frankly, the opposite.' he added.' Boomer is also the youngest, Butch's got quite the soft spot for him as well. Do you think we would have accepted this two week exile otherwise?'

' 'Exile' is an overstatement...'

' You're right, I'm exaggerating. I just don't enjoy staying too long in one place.'

The cook approached them with a plate covered with fresh thinly sliced tuna bits, accompanied by a small bowl of soy sauce and one with green, spicy smelling wasabi.

'Itadakimasu.' Brick said, bowing his head towards the cook. The cook bowed his head in response and returned to the kitchen.

Brick used chopsticks to grab a slice of tuna, dipped it into the sauce and bit into it, urging Blossom to do the same. She clumsily attempted to use the chopsticks, finally managing to pick up a piece as well.

'First kiss?' he suddenly asked, prompting her to drop the piece of fish.

'That's easy, it's you. Back then, years ago...'

'Besides that. First real kiss.' he pressed on, pushing for an answer.

'Freshman Year of Highschool, Bobby Moore, a senior who took me to prom with him. He kissed me at the end of the night.' she answered in one breath, not breaking his gaze. 'You?'

'4 years ago, a Canadian girl... We met in a bookstore.'

'What was her name?'

'I forgot. It's been a long time, we only spent a few hours together.' he said, rubbing his forehead in an attempt to remember.

'It wasn't so memorable, then.' Blossom quietly added, watching him behind her lashes.

Brick seemed amused as he studied her attempts to grip one of the slices.

'Oh, but it was, you know how teenagers are, I thought about it for days afterwards. I still miss her...' he taunted Blossom while sampling the wasabi.

'The girl you don't remember the name of..?

'..pretty sure it was Julie, she had French heritage, you know? Very classy girl.' he continued, barely stifling a laugh.

She managed to put a piece into her mouth, it was so thin and delicate, it almost melted like butter.

'Do you like it?' I think it's one of the better ones I've had.'

'It's... interesting. Needs some getting used to. But I can see myself acquiring the taste.'

'Are you still talking about the fish?' he poked at her.

'Don't flatter yourself.'

'I'm not wrong.' he muttered softly, grabbing her chin.

Blossom felt her skin burn under his fingers, accentuating as his thumb pressed against her lower lip.

'First person you killed..? she asked as he let go of her lip.

'Is this a first date or an interview? Feels an awful lot like the latter.' he narrowed his eyes at her.

'You're the one who began asking uncomfortable questions.' she sat back in her chair, folding her arms together.

'Again, it was too long ago, probably when I was first...spawned.' he gave her a strange smile. 'How about you?'

'I haven't killed anyone.'

'Humans, you mean. But you have killed other beings, yes?'

'Why is that relevant..?'

'Well, for all we know the monsters you've killed might be their own 'persons' as well. Also, let's not forget, you've killed me.' he said, reaching across the table. '

'I guess I have. Do you still resent me for it?'

'I can't resent you for anything you've done, we all were raised to be biological weapons in somebody else's war. If anything, it's tragic. You were made to kill your own kind.'

An uncomfortable silence fell between them as they continued with their meal. When they were done Brick reached out for her hand and they walked together to the shore.

'What are you hiding from me?' he blankly asked as they made their way through the sand.

Blossom felt a claw gripping at her heart, guilt sinking its fangs deep into it.

'...W-what so you mean...?'

'I know something's not right, you left too early from Townsville, you were too...driven. I know you're hiding something.'

'You were killing people left and right, I couldn't allow that to happen anymore.'

'Tsk, it's not just that. But I'll figure it out, I'm on the lookout.' he playfully winked at her as they flew away into the horizon.


	34. Destruction of Us

Lemons ahead, y'all! Put on your seatbelts,we're entering Citrus Town! (...Ok, that's cringy, I'm sorry, I'll stop)

(Songs I mentioned, in order:

1.Bathsalts- Blank Banshee

2\. Destruction of Us- Mr. Kitty

3\. Pump that Pussy- Original Gabber)

Please review if you're still following the fic 3 Thank youuu!

* * *

It was the second day of their stay on the island, and Blossom had to admit, Brick had really outdone himself this time.

The house was huge and lavishly furnished, downstairs a spacious jacuzzi was prepped and primed for them, and the staff had left them enough food to last for a week.

Butch was already taking a swim in the ocean while Boomer rolled some cigs in the living room. One look at him and she could tell he was in better spirits, he seemed content as he sprinkled a generous quantity of weed in the joint he was making.

'Wanna join me?' Boomer addressed the redhead, adding the finishing touches on his blunt.

'...maybe later? Have you seen Brick?' she found herself unwillingly mirroring the escape tactic she had tried to use the last time when she was in this situation.

'He's in the bathroom now ,but said he's gonna join me for a smoke.'

'Really? Thought it wasn't his thing.'

'It's wasn't your thing either, was it, Red? Yet you've tried it with Boomer.' she heard Brick's smooth voice behind her.

'I was curious...' she cautiously answered.

'So was I at first, but I guess it grew on me.'

Boomer lit the joint, puffed it for a bit and then passed it to his brother. Brick inhaled two times and then gave it to Blossom. She reluctantly picked it and followed suit, coughing in the process.

'It's fine, it's a learning curve. You'll get the hang of it eventually.' the redhead reassured her, taking a seat on the couch.

The large glass sliding doors facing the porch were opened, letting the salty ocean breeze fill up the room.

_'This is really nice.' _Blossom inhaled the fresh air, closing her eyes.

After raiding the kitchen, Boomer returned holding a few bags of chips and croissants, probably enough of them to feed ten people.

'You're gonna eat all that? Blossom raised her brow. 'There are people starving out there, Boomer.' she took a playful jab at him.

'Just you see, I'm a growing boy you know!' he said sticking a handful of chips in his mouth.

'Do you guys wanna watch something? We could try something trippy.' Boomer suggested after quickly emptying the bag.

'Fine by me. Any ideas?' Brick casually responded.

'Sure. There's this movie, 'Enter the Void', we could try seeing that. I've already got it downloaded.'

'Sounds good.' Blossom nodded, accepting the blunt from Boomer.

As the movie progressed, Blossom could feel her faculties diminishing. It seemed so colorful, vibrant...she sank into the couch as a wave of euphoria overcame her. This high somehow felt different than last time, she didn't remember being this... ecstatic.

'Boomer...what kind of weed is this?' she heard Brick's voice as if passing through a thick, liquid fog.

'I don't know... Pretty good weed if you ask me.' he replied lazily, time diluting as the words made their way to her.

The shapes sprang at Blossom from the screen, the colours mixing and matching in her brain, forming fractals that endlessly spiralled in her mind. This seemed to go on forever, she barely registered Brick addressing his brother:

'This isn't weed... Boomer .'

She took a look at him, he didn't seem as thrilled by the high as they were. He had closed his eyes and was now massaging his temples.

Blossom noticed now how his red mane fell on his shoulders, took in the subtle outline of his muscles under the simple white V neck t-shirt he was wearing. She felt compelled to get closer and comfort him.

'Hey, what's wrong?' Blossom murmured as she cupped his brow. 'Aren't you...enjoying yourself?'

The word 'enjoying' seemed to flow out of her mouth like honey, and Blossom found herself fixating on his mouth.

'I think I'm enjoying myself too much...I feel too good... I don't think... it's just weed.'

Her eyes followed the movement of his lips, she wanted to much to taste them... it was unbearable. She couldn't help herself as she claimed his mouth in an explorative kiss. Her fingers sank in his long hair, pulling at it while sitting on his lap. It was like she was kissing somebody for the first time, so new and fresh, exciting beyond belief.

'What are you guys doing?' Blossom heard Boomer laughing, but it seemed miles away. 'I thought we were watching the movie.'

Brick broke the kiss to gasp for air and started sucking on the tender flesh of her neck. This made Blossom moan, overriding her ability to contain herself. Brick's bulge was rock hard against her thighs, making her feel a flutter of satisfaction.

A loud thump broke the silence, they all turned around to see Butch entering the living room, soaking wet.

'You started the orgy without me? Not fun, guys.'

'They haven't invited me either yet, Butch.' Boomer managed to say between laughs. 'I don't know... what's strange about this weed. I feel funny..They act funny..'

Butch took a sniff of the air, then got closer to the table where Boomer was rolling his joints and began laughing hysterically:

'You smoked the weed I laced with molly to fuck with you guys. Ahahah. No wonder you're so touchy. How much did you have?'

'...three joints...Jesus Christ, Butch, you'll pay for this... You know why I don't do MDMA.' Brick scolded him while rubbing his eyes in an attempt to snap himself from the high.

'Why do you think I did it, haha? You should be thanking me, look how touchy the missus is getting with you.' he teased, lighting up a joint for himself.

'While you're at it, you should take a pill, too, Smoking it doesn't do **that** much, but it was worth putting it into the weed to fuck with you. If you're doing molly, you might as well get the full kick. ' he said, popping a pill he took out of a small package on the table.

_'MDMA_..? _so is this...ecstasy?'_

She vaguely remembered reading about it growing up for a chemistry assignment. She tried to pull the information from her memory, but it all seemed so hazy... and everything is so wonderful, why bother herself with something so tedious now?

Why was Brick so upset...? this was fantastic. She had never felt so good in her life, everything was perfect, exactly as it should be.

'I... like... it.' Blossom said, caressing his cheek. 'I feel great.' her pink eyes bore into his red ones, and she knew that everything she ever wanted was there, in her arms. It seemed so clear, so obvious.

'Turn around, princess!' she turned around to meet Butch who held a small pill between his index and his thumb. 'Open up.' he quickly popped the pill into her half-opened mouth. 'Now, swallow.'

She obeyed, somehow she felt it in her bones that Butch had her best interest in mind.

'You too, king.' Butch held his hand extended towards Brick, a single pink pill resting in his palm.

'To hell with it... why not?'

Brick took a quick look at the redhead on his lap, then picked up the pill and swallowed it down.

'What the fuck were you watching?' Butch took a look at the warping colours on the screen. 'This ain't no way to roll on molly.'

He approached the sound system and grabbed the aux cord, plugging it into his phone.

'Nah, Butch, lemme. It's my holiday.' Boomer was unnaturally assertive, grabbing the phone out of his brother's hand.

Butch seemed taken aback, but instead of protesting smiled sideways at his brother.

'Ok, lil bro, let's see what you got.'

Dreamy sounding electronica started blasting, and Boomer started swaying with the beat.

'Not bad, Boomer. What is this shit?'

Boomer was too busy vibing with the beat to pay any attention to his brother. Blossom tapped the rhythm with her foot, until Butch grabbed her and Brick to join them on the makeshift dancefloor.

The redhead got close to her as another song started, grabbing her waist as they moved in sync.

**_'I don't mind_**

**_Being underneath you_**

**_If you need something to do_**

**_I am ready to be used'_**

Brick's hot breath on her neck sent shivers of pleasure down her back, his hands roaming freely across her body.

'**_When you do these things to me_**

**_Who am I supposed to be?_**

**_If I don't reciprocate_**

**_Will you let my body break?'_**

Brick pulled at her hair to look her in the eyes, his pupils were so dilated that the unusual red of his irises was barely visible. Blossom wasn't expecting the hungry, clouded gaze she was met with.

He then grabbed her hand , pulling her upstairs to the bedrooms. They could hear Butch yelling 'Have fun!' as Brick closed the room behind them.

'Might as well take advantage of this high.' he managed to say before his lips crashed into hers.

He quickly took her shirt off, pausing to gaze at her exposed breasts. Brick then nibbled at her ear as he pushed her towards the queen sized bed.

Blossom sank into the mattress and helped him remove her pants and underwear, then continued with his shirt.

She ran her hands across the lean muscles of his torso, then brushed her lips against his neck, feeling his quickened pulse. She kissed him there, purring with excitement excited as she pulled a whimper of pleasure out of him.

'Don't stop.'

She insisted, starting to lightly suck at the skin. This caused more moans to escape his lips, making Blossom feel more powerful than ever, she knew she had him wrapped around her finger. She straddled him as she removed his trousers just enough to have acces to his manhood.

His cock sprang out of his underwear, and she studied it curiously. So far she hadn't gotten a good look at it, it was the first time when she properly got to explore his body.

She touched it, but before she could do anything else she heard Brick's voice:

'There's condoms on the nightstand, if you want... Or I could just pull out this time..'

'But it's safe, yes ?' Blossom asked, her hand still caressing his cock.

'Yes, I can do it right...' she could tell he was bursting with excitement.

Blossom swallowed the saliva that had pooled in her mouth, the thought of not using a condom enticed her. It was so wrong, but now somehow it only managed to get her going.

'Can't wait.' she said, moving her hand up and down her shaft, looking at him intently to study his reactions.

His erection was huge, her hand seemed delicate holding it.

'Take me in your mouth...' he suggested, almost pleading.

She'd seen it done in porn ,at night, under the blankets, after her sisters and the professor had fallen asleep. She wasn't exactly sure how to go about it, it seemed intimidating, but she felt she had the courage to try it now.

She tentatively licked its tip, and was met with a moan from him. Hearing this, she insisted, taking it in her mouth and lightly sucking on it. She continued the sucking motion, his moans accentuating as she felt his hand on the back of her head, lightly pushing her to go deeper.

She stopped and looked him in the eye:

'Is this good?'

He nodded as Blossom took more of him in and started bobbing her head up and down.

'Like this?'

'Yes, I love it... keep doing it.'

His cock was growing bigger in her hands as she insisted, a smile creeping on her face as she heard his grunts of satisfaction.

'I.. can't anymore...'

He stopped Blossom, switched their positions and straddled her. His cock was still slick with her saliva as he teased the entrance of her pussy.

Her eyes widened in surprise as he entered her, she could feel that the texture and warmth of his dick was different this time.

'God, this is so much better... I can feel how wet you are.'

He continued pumping, each stroke making her cry out in pleasure. She pushed her hips against him to meet his thrusts as he closely studied how her body answered to him.

'I love the faces you make.' he whispered.' Your open mouth... You're my slut.'

He used his fingers to grab at her throat as he slowed down his pace.

'Do you like this?'

Blossom felt used in the best possible way as he plunged her into the mattress, choking her with his right hand. She spread her legs wider to let him penetrate her deeper, adjusting the angle with her hips.

'Yes, please.'

His strokes were achingly slow, it's like he savoured her anticipation. Each one of them filled her completely.

'You're mine... forever. Mine only.'

_'I'm yours.'_

Blossom felt one with him, could hardly tell where his body began and hers ended. She was so entranced that she didn't even register when she got flipped over and taken from behind. Her nails sank into the bed covers as he continued fucking her senseless.

'I love how your pussy grips me when you're surprised.' he licked her earlobe. 'I love how wet you are.' he grinned against her ear.

'Now up on all fours, and bend over...I want to taste you.'

She complied, and soon felt his mouth in her folds, focusing on her clit. He stopped at times to tease her with his fingers, slipping one between her labia.

Blossom whimpered in pleasure as he continued his assault, and soon felt that familiar warmth overwhelming her.

_'Fuck, I'm gonna...' _

Her orgasm came with a bang, burning the bed and Brick's flesh. She turned around and was met with a lipless grin that horrified her. She got closer to examine the extent of the damage.

'I'm fine...maybe a bit bummed it didn't last longer.' he answered the question in her eyes.

'I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to...'

'I know, Red...I'll make sure you make it up for me tomorrow when I'm healed...'he replied, removing a piece of burnt flesh from his cheek.

He looked around at the wreckage and laughed:

'Tomorrow's Brick is... going to have to deal with all this.'

'But maybe still have fun for now..?' he suggested, his pupils still unnaturally dilated.

'We could...join the others.' Blossom enthusiastically agreed.

After getting partially dressed they went downstairs and were met by a celebratory Butch, clapping for their entrance. He had brought a disco ball in the living room, and was dancing maniacally with his brother on some fast-paced electronica.

'What music is this...?' Blossom found herself yelling so that the brothers could hear her.

Boomer answered her, breaking free from a second from the insane dance:

'Butch's craaaaazy shit...' he answered as Butch dragged the redheads out to dance.

The beats were booming in her brain, and she felt her heart attempt to keep up with the fast pace. The rest of the night continued in a haze, Blossom barely managed to cling to any coherent thought, but she knew for sure she'd never been happier in her life. It hardly mattered to her now that a pill was to blame.


	35. Stupid

Hey, y'all! Are you liking the fic so far? I'm wondering if you can guess where this is going hehe. rr

* * *

Her head was killing her. Too. Much. Light.

Blossom tried to shield her eyes as she cracked her eyelids open. It was difficult to describe the level of misery she felt at that moment. Maybe something between finding out you failed every exam in college and your new puppy getting killed in a car accident.

She turned her head and saw Brick lying on the burned sheets next to her. He hadn't woken up yet, but her stirring made him grimace in his sleep, signaling his imminent awakening.

_'What the fuck was I thinking...?'_ She remembered swallowing the pill from Butch's hand like her life depended on it.

_'Stupid, stupid, Blossom.'_

Brick's eyelids fluttered open, the look on his face suggested that his mental state was similar to hers, maybe even worse.

'Fuck..' he mumbled under his breath. 'Fuck Butch. I'll kill him.' Brick croaked, massaging his temples.

Last night's memories flooded over Blossom's mind, albeit fractured, waiting for her to patch them together.

_'We had sex again...and it was fucking fantastic, wasn't it? How many times do you plan to fuck him, you whore? You're going to regret this at the end of the month. You stupid, stupid slut._'

'I'll neuter him. I'll strangle him with his own ballsack.' he grew more irritated by the minute, his voice clawing at her brain like a broken record.

'Stop talking.' Blossom hissed between her teeth, covering her ears in frustration.

'What's wrong? Post-coital sadness once again? It's fucking grating as this point.' he replied bitingly, as if he picked at a healing scab.

'I think you have a sick fascination with my possible regret. Maybe you fetishize the idea of me hating myself after we fuck?'

'I'm just voicing your thoughts. You think I don't see how you look at me the mornings after?'

'Maybe you'd understand why if you possessed the smallest sliver of fucking empathy.' the exchange had evolved into a screaming match.

'Oh, I understand why.' he barked at her. 'We've been over this a million times, for fuck's sake.'

He stopped as if breaking free from a spell, looked around and drew the blinds to shield them from the sun.

'Fucking MDMA withdrawal...I don't want to fight, Blossom. Especially about stuff we've fought about dozens of times before. It's best if we just don't talk today.'

'Fine.' Blossom replied, feeling her headache growing stronger and her misery more acute.

Brick stormed out of the room, leaving a distressed Blossom on the bed, trying to cope with the dark scenarios that were brewing in the cauldron of her mind.

Clips of her plunging Antidote X in him kept playing in her head, him trying to fight back in anger and betrayal, getting crushed in the ensuing battle, dying in her arms... or the version of her failing, having her own body rendered powerless and impaled afterwards by his vengeful blows. And the worst of all was the scenario where she just couldn't give him up_, _she couldn't go back to her sisters and her life back in Townsville.

_'But I couldn't, could I? Why is it even crossing my mind?'__'_

_Because you _**_like _**_him_**_, _**_it's hardly just lust anymore.' _a small, shy voice in her head dared to give her the answer, but Blossom decided to bury it deep inside herself, too scared to explore the idea.

Instead she chose to sink her head deep into the pillows, waiting for the god-awful day to end.

* * *

A few days passed by uneventfully, each of them spending the time as well as they could. There was that much time you could waste in the jacuzzi and browsing through Boomer and Butch's choice of movies and music, so she had complained to the boys about her lack of reading material.

Brick had isolated himself in his room, coming out rarely(in a foul mood) just so he could eat. Boomer had told her that was the reason why he didn't do MDMA, it would take a few days for him to regain his spirits.

On the third day Brick had gotten out of his room once again complaining about a splitting headache, leaving the island for a few hours and returning with fresh food, a Kindle full of books for her to sift through and an SD card full of movies and TV series. He quietly laid them on the table for her to see, then barricaded himself in the room, ignoring them all. Blossom could hear him leaving his room at night, but for all intents and purposes, he was on standby.

The Kindle had over 500 books in it, and Blossom couldn't recognise most of the authors. One drew her attention though, Mark Ridley's The Red Queen, whoever had started it was halfway through already.

Boomer seemed to have the time of his life. He happily cooked and cleaned for all of them, occasionally went out swimming with his brother, making the most of this blissful existence.

Butch, however, was getting antsier as the days went by. He went more often for longer swimming sessions, and even resorted to smoking with his brother in an attempt to make the stay more bearable for him.

If was hard for Blossom to define the relationship she had with the green brother, it mostly consisted of merciless teasing on his part with a hint of animosity, but there was also something there that she found difficult to place. She sometimes could feel him eyeing her curiously, feeling almost naked under his piercing green orbs.

On the fifth day she was resting on the couch with the green ruff while Boomer merrily cooked dinner in the kitchen, when Butch suddenly asked:

'What's the deal with your sister?' he quickly inquired, not taking his eyes away from the movie they were watching.

'...What do you mean?' Blossom asked, taken by surprise.

'I mean, what's her deal. Is she a lesbian or something?' he asked, his eyes still glued to the TV.

'...why would you ask me something like that?' she probed him. 'Unless...' Her eyes widened in realisation: '..are you interested in her?'

' FUCK NO.' he barked at her. 'She looks like a fucking man, I wouldn't fuck that in a million years.'

'I guess you're in luck. The feeling is mutual, she wouldn't either.' Blossom replied blankly. 'And don't ever talk like that about my sister.'

Butch raised his brow, a confused look marring his features.

'How do you know that?'

A memory of the way Buttercup hit her when she admitted to sleeping with the red rowdyruff flashed in her mind

'I know Buttercup. She wouldn't, trust me.'

Butch frowned at her, barely attempting to hide his irritation.

'Maybe you don't know her that well, Flossy!'

'Or maybe you can't accept that she not interested..? ' she replied amusedly, cautiously observing his reactions.

'Nah, she's either gay or into me. Even you want my dick, Pinkie. Seen how you look at me. You'd gobble me up if Brick wasn't around.' he winked at Blossom, only succeeding in making her cringe.

'It's guys like you who think 'No' means 'Yes'. Not everyone wants to fuck you,Butch.' she rolled her eyes in response.

'I always got every girl I wanted. So I guess, yea, everyone does wanna fuck me.'

'Well, if that makes you feel better about yourself.' she replied, taking a sip of OJ.

'You sound just like Brick.' he grabbed the glass from her hand and gulped down the juice.

'He never takes me seriously and I always prove him wrong.'

'You don't have to prove anything to me.' Blossom said softly, feeling something ominous in his resolve.

'Just you see, Flossy.' Butch replied eerily, the flickering TV lights reflecting in his eyes. 'Just you see.'

Blossom felt fear clawing at her heart, she'd known enough of Butch to tell that he's bad news.

'Leave my sister alone.'

'Or what?' he taunted her, tilting his head to the side.

'Brick promised.'

'Are you gonna run to daddy and tell on me, lil' girl?' he wiped an imaginary tear off his cheek.

'If you get her mixed up in this,I'll fucking end you.' her steely voice pierced through the air. 'You heard that?'

'Chill, sister, I'm not doing anything.' Butch casually said as he went to the fridge to grab himself a beer. 'I wouldn't get Brick's panties in a knot over this.'

'Smells great, lil bro, whatchu making?' Blossom heard him asking as he passed through the kitchen door.

Blossom wondered whether she should tell Brick about the whole discussion, no matter how dismissive Butch had seemed of her concerns, Blossom still didn't feel comfortable with him having his eyes set on her sister.

She hadn't talked to Brick for a few days, but Blossom figured he'd eventually have to leave his room, so now seemed as good of a moment as ever.

She went upstairs and gently tapped on the door, waiting for his answer.

'Brick, it's me.'

The door opened widely, revealing a pitch black room as a tall figure leaned against the frame.

'Yes?'

Somehow Blossom still hadn't gotten used to seeing him without a shirt on, however, this time her wandering gaze was stuck on his eyes. Dark circles surrounded them and the red of his irises was highlighted by the broken blood vessels in the white of his orbs.

'Are you ok...?'

He smirked at her concern, taking the time to run a hand through his hair before he answered:

'I'll be alright. I don't look too good, do I?'

Blossom shook her head, noticing his face had gotten a little slimmer as she took a longer look.

'I've been... preoccupied. But..come in.' he motioned with his head.

She walked in as he closed the door behind her, leaving her fumble her way into total darkness. She attempted to activate her x-ray vision, but she felt his hand cover her eyes as he whispered.

'No,don't. You won't be needing it. I might not look as good, but I'll feel as good.'

Blossom felt herself melt into his embrace as he began undressing her. She hated how this felt so effortless and comfortable at this point.

'I...came here to tell you something.' she felt his lips travel along her neck, then lower.

'What do you want, Red?' he kissed the skin between her breasts.

'...Your brother might be after Buttercup.'

'You don't have to worry. He won't do anything. '

'Are...you...sure?' Her breathing laboured as he travelled south, caressing the soft skin of her stomach.

'Yes. He owes me a lot. He wouldn't do it.'

Blossom was trembling with anticipation as he lightly spread her legs and licked the inside of her thighs.

'Is it about...HIM?'

'Curiosity killed the cat.' she felt him grinning against her inner thigh. 'Just try to enjoy yourself, Red. Maybe if you like it well enough you won't hate me afterwards.'

She gasped as Brick grabbed on her buttocks to push himself into her sex. Blossom felt her brain shut down as she yielded to her impulses once again.

'_Stupid, stupid Blossom.' _


	36. Red Flags

When she entered his room, she hadn't realised she would end up spending a whole day with him, their limbs entangled in his bedsheets. He had sucked her into his isolation, creating a tiny world for two in the confines of his room. It wasn't looking that great, they'd managed to ruin a lot of it, although they started to anticipate their reactions and succeeded in lessening the damage.

She left the room a few times, but almost felt ashamed when she bumped into the other brothers: they knew they'd been locked up together. If anything, her disheveled clothes and bed hair were proof of it. Boomer seemed vaguely embarrassed and Butch gave her strange looks instead of his usual teasing. He seemed even more on edge that the last time she'd seen him, so Blossom tried to interact as little as possible with him.

Brick was ravenous, he couldn't have enough of her, at times she felt like she was in the clutches of a starving wolf. It was as if he tried to possess her with each encounter, struggling to keep more and more of her in his grasp. There was some sort of desperation in his attempts to please her and sate his own lust.

Blossom studied his profile as he stared at the ceiling, when she dared to break the silence

'Is **_this_** what you had in mind initially? When you asked me to come with you? Day-long-sex-marathons?'' she stared at him blankly.

He turned his head towards her:

'No.' he responded, half-smiling. But I'm not hating it one bit.'

The black circles around his eyes had deepened, Blossom wondered if he ever planned on resting. He sure looked like he needed it.

'Are you still feeling bad from the MDMA? Boomer told me that it messes with you a lot, but it's been almost a week since we took it...'

'You sure do like talking about me with my brothers.' he said, vaguely annoyed. 'There was a reason I said I'd skin Butch alive. That stuff is not good for me. But, I'll be fine.'

He lazily reached for the bottle of water on the nightstand and almost emptied it in one gulp.

'I looked through the Kindle you've given me. Is it yours? Because it would explain a lot about you.' she asked, bringing her knees to her chest and propping her chin on them.

'What do you mean?' he asked, grabbing a loose lock of her hair.

'Your choice of literature.. it really explains a lot of your... way of thinking. I've started reading one of the books: The Red Queen.'

**_' 'It takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place. If you want to get somewhere else, you must run at least twice as fast as that!' _**I'm guessing you know where that quote's from, Blossom.'

'Isn't it from Alice in Wonderland? The author mentioned it. In order to survive as a species you must always be on the run, if you want to evolve you need to have an advantage over everyone else.'

'And where does that put you and me? he smirked at her, twisting the lock around his finger, waiting for a response from her that never came. Seeing that she avoided his gaze, he leaned into the bedframe, letting go of her lock.

'I want to read some of the books you like. It's one of the most intimate ways of getting to know someone's thoughts.' he said softly, drawing imaginary circles on the ceiling with his index.

'Don't you think I've got original thoughts besides the books? Blossom teased, nudging him in the ribs with her elbow.

Brick took a sideways look at her, coupling it with a crooked smile:

'Books are easier to open up, not sure if I can say the same about you.'

'You're one to talk.' Blossom retorted. 'You haven't told any of us where you left the other day or why. Even though you specifically insisted on leaving the island as little as possible during these two weeks.'

'Privacy.' he straddled her, shutting her up with a deep kiss. 'We're allowed to have our secrets.' he whispered between kisses. 'I know you do, as well. Let's...allow ourselves that.'

'You... can't...always...distract me..like...this...you know?' Blossom managed to say while they were drawing their breath.

'It's working so far.' he replied, firmly grabbing at the flesh of her hips.

She gasped, and he took the opportunity to suck at her lower lip as he snaked a hand between her thighs to spread them apart.

He reached for the nightstand with his free hand, finding a just a bunch of ripped open condom packages.

'We're out of condoms...Could we...?' he gave her a pleading look.

'No.' Blossom slithered out of his grasp. 'Absolutely not.' she pulled up the covers around her protectively.

'We've done it before, you know.' he replied, narrowing his eyes at her.

'I was high!!' she raised her hands in exasperation. 'I wasn't thinking right, I wouldn't normally do it without a condom.'

'Fine.' Brick seemed disenhearted as he propped himself on the edge of the bed.

'We...used them all?' Blossom blushed, barely managing to hide the shock in her voice.

'Didn't have that many to begin with. I didn't exactly plan for **_this_**.' he pointed at himself, then her.

'I highly doubt that.' Blossom raised an eyebrow at him.

'Not this much of it. Hoped for it, for sure, but I like to think I'm realistic.' he gave her a small smile. 'Day-long-sex-marathon wasn't on my mental checklist.'

'I sometimes wonder how many actions of yours are planned and how many are you just winging it.' she taunted Brick, punching him lightly on the shoulder.

'Only someone who is well prepared has the opportunity to improvise.' he winked at her. 'This isn't the case, however.'

'Guess the fever dream is over.' Blossom muttered under her breath, looking around for her clothes, finding them discarded in a pile on the floor.

'I'm going to take a shower and then go down to eat.'

Brick nodded in agreement.

'You should leave your room, too. Join me for the meal, maybe?'

'You're getting bossy with me, is it a good sign?'

'Only if you listen to what I say.'

'I will if I can trust your ideas.'

'I have a feeling that's not going to happen very often.'

'What gave it away...?' he lightly chuckled.

'You're stubborn, proud and way too attached to your own ideas.' Blossom crossed her arms together.

'Takes one to know one.' Brick flashed her a knowing smile as she made her way out of the room.

* * *

After she had something to eat with Boomer, Blossom agreed to his suggestion to go into the jacuzzi together. They'd only tried it once before, but Butch had ruined the experience by taking a plunge into the tub after they'd dropped some lavender bath bombs into it.

This time Boomer chose some fruit flavoured ones to use, Blossom relished in the smell as Boomer crushed them with his fingers.

'Is Brick coming out of his room today?'

'I don't know. Maybe.' Blossom replied resting her head on the edge of the tub as the water soothed her muscles. She closed her eyes as the powerful jets of water massaged her body.

'Brick! Come here, join us.'

Blossom turned her head to see the redhead approaching the jacuzzi. He quickly removed all his clothes down to his boxers and entered the tub.

'Butch?' Brick simply asked as he waded his way towards Blossom.

'Out swimming. I had no idea he laced the weed, man.' Boomer almost seemed repentant for his brother.

'I know, it's fine. I'm ok.'

An uncomfortable silence fell between them as Boomer looked from one to the other. They could hear the midnight waves crashing into the nearby shore.

'You know what we could do? What if we played something?'

'Like what, Boomer?'

'I don't know.. how about Never have I never? We can make it fun and take a shot each time someone raises their hand.'

Boomer got out of the the tub and promptly retuned with a bottle of vodka.

'We don't have shot glasses, but we can just use the bottle.'

'Does everything have to involve drugs or drinks to be fun for you guys? Blossom asked, rolling her eyes at the sheer size of the vodka bottle. She had played Never have I ever for a few times in her embarrassing teenage years, but never involving alcohol.

_'I have a feeling this can go very, very wrong.'_

'C'mon, Bloss, it's more fun like this.' Boomer whined, already opening the bottle. 'I'll start.'

'Never have I ever...' he looked around 'worn women's clothes.'

Blossom raised her hand and grabbed the bottle, taking a drink.

'That's cheating, you know. You can't use stuff that's girl specific since I'm the only girl here.'

'Yeah, you're right. No girl stuff anymore. Your turn now.'

Blossom took a hard look at both of them then started:

'Never have I ever... robbed a bank.'

Brick and Boomer passed the bottle between them, and then it was Brick's turn:

'Never have I ever... felt bad for hurting humans.'

It was Boomer and Blossom's turn to drink, and Boomer continued:

'Never have I ever... had a ordinary life.'

Both Boomer and Brick stared at Blossom, who wasn't raising her hand.

'What..?'

'Have a drink.' Brick motioned at the bottle.

'Ordinary? I wouldn't call it ordinary, I've always had Chemical X in my system.'

'Your old life seemed to be as ordinary as it can get for us.' Brick passed her the bottle.

'Fine.' an annoyed Blossom took a sip, the vodka burning her throat and continued the game:

'Never have I ever killed someone during sex.' Only Brick raised his hand, and she passed the bottle right back at him.

'We're down to personal attacks, I see. Alright, never have I ever deluded myself into thinking that I'm satisfied with my normal, boring life.' Brick winked, throwing her the bottle. Blossom fumed, barely managing to catch it in time.

'This isn't fun anymore, guys.' Boomer pleaded , grabbing the bottle from Blossom's hands. 'Let's keep it light,please. I'll start again. Never have I ever.. liked maths.'

Both the redheads raised their hands, and took a drink each.

'Hey, fuckwads. Whatchu doing?'

The ever-dripping-wet Butch appeared from the darkness and promptly joined them in the tub.

'Playing Never have I ever. Everyone's losing.' Boomer answered, slicking his blonde hair back.

Butch quickly analyzed the redheads, narrowing his eyes when he got to Brick:

'Hey, Brick. You look like shit.' the words rolled off his tongue.

'Enjoying your work? It's your doing after all.'

'You'll be fine. Can I join?'

'Yea, but wait for your turn. It's Blossom's now.' Boomer interjected.

'Never have I ever...' she looked at Butch 'tried cocaine.'

They all raised their hands, and Boomer laughed. He seemed a tad intoxicated already, his cheeks had turned a crimson red shade.

'I mean we all tried everything, Blossom. We each just have our preferences.'

Brick followed:

'Never have I ever...lost my phone.'

Butch and Boomer raised their hands.

'Oh,I see what you're doing there, you asshole.' Butch commented, playing with the bottle in hands.

'What's with these sissy ass questions, let's get to the good stuff. What everyone here is really interested in. My turn, Boomer, right?'

Boomer nodded as Butch continued:

'Never have I ever sucked dick.' he looked Blossom straight in the eyes.

She furrowed her brows at him as she took the bottle out of his hands. None of the boys raised theirs.

'Is sucking dick fun, Flossy? I've only been on the receiving end. Does your service come with teabagging included? ' Butch slowly asked, pinning her with his green eyes.

_'What the hell is he trying to do...?'_

'Butch, watch out.' Brick's steely tone rang in her ear.

'Relax, it's just a question. I'm curious. Might start sucking dick myself, a tutorial is always nice. Not the time tho. Boomer, it's your turn, right?'

'Yeaaah...Oh, fun, sex questions.' Boomer flashed them a perky grin. 'I mean, I've never been in love, so why would I have sex? ... I guess, never have I ever been in love.'

Blossom felt something clawing at her heart when she saw Brick promptly raising his hand and grabbing the bottle, under everyone's searching looks .

_'Fuck, fuck, fuck...in love? ..with me..?' _

'That's a big word, bro. I guess Flossy isn't feeling the same, tough luck.'

'I didn't expect her to yet.' Brick replied calmly, stirring something deep inside of her.

_'In love..? Already? ' _the words still reverberated in her ears. '_Why is he so casual about it...?_ '

'What do you have to say about it, Floss?'

'I-I..' Blossom started, struggling to find her words as three pairs of eyes stared her down.

'You don't have to say anything, Blossom.' Brick answered for her, squinting his eyes at his brother. 'It's nothing more natural or shameless than this. It just came faster for me because I had less hiccups to overcome.'

_'Hiccups. No. Bad news'_

'Never thought you'd stoop this low, brother. Defending a chick's right to friendzone you.'

_'This is anything but a friendzone...' _

'I don't think friendzone means what you think it means.' Brick replied, a twinkle of amusement appearing in his eyes.

'Friendzone, fuckzone, whatever this shit is.' he motioned in their general direction. 'Anyway,it's your turn, simp.' Butch motioned at his redheaded brother.

'Never have I ever acted like an idiot just to spite my brother.' Brick bit back.

'You're saying it like it's a bad thing.' Butch replied, taking the bottle from him. 'It's fun.'

'Maybe we shouldn't be playing anymore.' Blossom suggested as it was her turn to ask the question.

'No, Flossy, whatchu talking about?! It's just getting better. Come at me, I dare you. Ask the shittiest thing you think is true about me. C'mon, destroy me. Rip me into pieces.' Butch challenged her, his eyes widening in expectation.

'I can handle it. Do your fucking worst, don't be chicken shit.' he insisted as he saw her wavering.

'Never have I ever... killed Mojo JoJo.' Blossom felt the words escaping her mouth, and regretted as soon as she said them.

'Butch's expression turned into one of horror for a milisecond, then he gained back his composure and took a large gulp from the bottle.

'That monkey had it coming. My turn now.'

He took a long look at her, a devilish smile creeping on his face. Blossom knew that she had hit a nerve and he was going to attempt to mentally destroy her.

'Never have I never... taken a dick in the backdoor.'

_'What a literal asshole.'_

Immediately Brick's hand was at his throat, but the impish grin remained plastered on his face.

'Let him go, Brick.'

'Yeah, Brick, listen to your mommy.' Butch gurgled. Brick tightened the grip on his neck, when Blossom intervened by touching his arm.

'I want to talk to him, I can't if you're strangling him.'

Brick loosened his grasp and retreated into the opposite corner of the tub.

'Listen ,Butch...Your interest in my sex life borders on voyeuristic. The way you talk about women is disgusting.. You're an ass, but you know that already.' she felt her confidence soar as her rant continued. 'I don't have any way of convincing you that I'm not some succubus that's after your brother's soul, so I guess next time you do cross me we're looking at a proper fight.' she ended with a sigh.

_'...liar, you're going to destroy him.' _a small voice inside her shrieked .

_'...or, maybe we're going to destroy each other.' _she answered.

'I'm ready when you are.' Butch flashed her his widest smile.

'Butch.'

The green ruff turned his head to meet his older brother's blood red eyes.

'She's not going anywhere.'

A few moments of silence passed as the two stared each other down, and it concluded with Butch finally bursting towards Blossom:

'I'm sick of this fucking house. I'm sick of seeing you here. I'm sick of hearing you fucking through the walls. You scream like a little bitch.' he erupted, every word of his coated in spite and malice.

'Where's **_my_** fuck doll, Brick? You make me spend two weeks on this island, and don't even get me started on the shit about not hurting humans.' he got out of the jacuzzi, floating above them menacingly.

'But, you don't give a flying fuck as long as you get to eat out her magical cunt. You know what? Maybe you're right.' a sadistic grin appeared on his face as he looked into the distance.

'Cya, fuckers. ' he waved them goodbye as he left in a flash of green.

'Where did he go...?' Boomer asked, waking up from his drunken haze.

Brick and Blossom were paralyzed, not really processing what just happened.

'Did he leave for a swim...?' Boomer continued, still dumbfounded.

_' Fuck. ' _


	37. Panic

As many of you have figured out by now, this story isn't entirely canon. I would call it...slight AU hehe.

* * *

After a minute or so of confusion, Blossom found herself on autopilot:

'He's going to Townsville, we have to follow him.' Blossom hastily told Brick as she got out of the tub and threw some clothes on herself.'

'Wait, why are you so sure he's going to Townsville?' Brick narrowed his eyes as he followed her movement.

'I told you he's been weird about Buttercup! Blossom yelled at him, exasperated. 'And you've seen how strange he's been acting tonight.'

'How do I know you're not just trying to drag me back to Townsville and ambush Boomer and me?''I think that the conclusion that he's going to Townsville came way too conveniently for you.' Brick got out of the tub and hoovered above the water.

Blossom flew over to face him, snapping back:

'You're very dense if you don't see this as a real possibility.'

'I just don't see it as the ONLY possibility. It is however, the possibility that puts me and my brother in danger of being captured.'

'Why do you even care about being captured, eh?' Butch could always just do another trade, it's not like it's above you people.' Blossom spat out, aggressively gesticulating in an attempt to make her point go across.

'' 'You people'!? I thought you were one of us now, at least in theory.' Brick approached her menacingly.

'You can't possibly expect me to stand back while your psychopathic brother is after my little sister, what would you do if you were in my shoes, eh? If one of them was in danger? What did you do with HIM?!?'

'I said: don't.bring.that.up.'. Brick hissed through gritted teeth as he grabbed her by the shoulders.

'I've got no idea what you've done that's so terrible even to mention...' she whispered as she gazed back into his rage filled eyes. 'But I know you did it for them, because I would have done the same.' she added as his eyes started to soften. 'I'd go through hell to protect Buttercup.'

'Look, you and Boomer don't have to come, but I need to help my sister. I'll go alone, but I promise I'm coming back after I make sure Buttercup is safe.' Blossom pleaded. 'Let me go.'

Brick gave her a searching look, and ultimately nodded in agreement:

'You won't go alone, we're coming.' he paused, motioning towards Boomer who still hadn't snapped out of his drunken confusion. 'If you're right, maybe your sisters capture Butch, and I'll have nothing of that. We're leaving in the morning.'

'No...what? We have to go now, what if he gets her untill the morning?? You have to at least let me call and warn her.'

''Call her?' I'm not letting you call her from this island under any circumstance. I'm not giving them the opportunity to track us. If you insist on it, we can fly somewhere else and give her a ring from a burner phone.'

'Fine, let's do that.' Blossom reluctantly agreed.

'Boomer, stay here. Give us a ring in case Butch returns.'

The blonde merely drunkenly nodded in agreement, not making any attempt to leave the jacuzzi.

Brick went inside the house and soon returned with a small, old fashioned phone. He motioned with his head at Blossom, and soon they were both midair, Brick guiding her among the clouds.

'Is this far enough for you, now?' Blossom yelled so her counterpart could hear her.

'Not yet. I'm not taking any chances.'

They finally stopped and Brick reluctantly passed her the phone, Blossom hurriedly picking her up. She managed to remember Buttercup's number, and promptly dialed it. The phone rang once, two, three times. With each unanswered ring a new wave of panic overwhelmed her. She ultimately gave up and typed in Bubbles' number instead.

'...yes...? Who ...is..?' a high-pitched voice answered on the other side of the line, Blossom barely distinguishing her younger sister's voice. She seemed far away, as if her voice attempted to pierce through a wall of static.

'Bubbles, it's me, Blossom. Listen, is Buttercup with you?'

'...Blossom??'

'Yes, is Buttercup there?'

'Blo...om?' Butte..er...ends...'

'Hello, Bubbles??ANSWER ME, DAMNIT! Is Buttercup with you?'

'I can't hear ... Yo... b...aki... up.' static started breaking in on the phonecall. 'What..'' did...' the static overwhelmed the call at that point.' ...ttercup' .

'I said, 'Where's Buttercup?'. Can you hear me now??' Blossom yelled in the phone, moving around with it, trying to get better signal, but failing miserably at it.

'Stop it, you're wasting time.' Brick grabbed the phone from her hand.. Let's go, we'll call her again when we reach a better area.'

'No, give it back, she could hear me. ' Blossom reached for the phone, losing her temper.

'Fine, have it.' he sighed, passing her back the phone. We should be close to a coast here.' He pointed out towards a shore into the far distance.

'We're bound to have signal there.' she heard Brick shouting at her loud enough for him to hear her over the constant wooshing of the wind around their heads.

He was right. As soon as they reached the sunny shore, the phone picked a signal again, this time Blossom clearly hearing her blonde sister's crystalline voice.

'Blossom, is that you?'

'Yes. Where's Buttercup, Bubbles??'

' I think she's at home, she wasn't feeling that great this morning. Why? Did something happen?'

'Are you sure? Where are you??'

'I'm still at the shelter.'

'Can you go home and check up on her?'

'Yes. What happened, Blossom? Wait a minute, the professor is on the other line.

For a moment the call was paused and Blossom felt panic swell up in her chest. Brick studied her intently, but she refused to stare back at him. What followed were the five longest minutes of her life, she knew it in her gut that something was deeply wrong. Ultimately, Bubbles resumed the call, her voice clearly distraught:

'Someone just took her, Blossom! It was so fast, the feds didn't even see his face! He just...left with her!! How can that even happen?? It's Buttercup! What happened,Blossom?! TELL ME, WHAT HAPPENED??'

Blossom felt the blood freeze in her veins hearing her sister's high pitched scream.

'It's Butch, the green rowdyruff.' she found herself replying, still in shock.

'Butch?!?'

'Yes. Go home, see if you can find any clues. I'll be there soon**.'**

'Where is he taking her??'

'I don't know, Bubbles. I'll be there soon, ok??'

'Her tracker and phone are in her room, they don't even know where to look. Blossom, please, where is he taking her??'

'Wait for me, I'm coming.' she closed the phone.

_'It's my fault.'_

Blossom's hands started to shake as she buried her face into them. She spent a way seconds in the darkness behind her palms, as she pulled them down, Blossom answered the questioning look in her counterpart's eyes:

'We're too late. He's already got her.' Blossom blankly answered.

'Just like that..That fast? I thought your sister was...more resilient ? ' Brick promptly replied. 'Butch didn't even have his phone with him, how could he possibly contact her so fast?'

'He went to our home directly and found her there.

'Ah, yes. I see. ' he slowly replied, an uncomfortable silence falling between them.

'...And overpowered her so fast? Maybe I overestimated your sister.'

'It's what Bubbles told me, ok? I don't know.' Blossom shrieked at him in annoyance.

_'It's all my fault. It's all my fault. itsallmyfault. ITSALLMYFAULT.'_

'Butch, you idiot..' Brick mumbled under his breath.

He started flying in circles, his brow furrowed in concentration, then he suddenly stopped as he turned towards Blossom.

'We're going back to the island.' he calmly stated, turning his back to the coast.

'Wait, why?? Maybe they're still in Townsville.'

'I don't think so. Knowing Butch, he'd want to rub it in my face as soon as possible, even if he gets his ass kicked for it. I'll give him the beating of a lifetime. Your sister is going to be fine.' he replied, an annoyed look in his eyes.

'How can you say that?? Maybe we can still catch up on them!'

'If I trusted you in the first place, maybe we could have prevented this. I was wrong not to. Now I ask you to trust me. I know my brother well. Can you?' he replied, giving her a knowing smile.

Blossom took a long breath, the cold breeze quickly filling up her lungs. She couldn't possibly refuse him, could she?

'Ok. I trust you.' as the words escaped her mouth, she felt some of the weight of responsibility pass onto his shoulders.

'Let's go back. I'll take care of it.' Brick said, grabbing the burner phone out of her hands and throwing it in the water below.

'If anything happens to her, I swear to God I'll...'

'I'll beat him to a pulp myself, before you even get a chance to touch him, don't worry.' he interrupted her.

Blossom hated how comforting Brick's hand felt on hers as they flew back together.

_'This would have never happened if you hadn't joined them. It's all because of you, you stupid bitch.'_

Blossom barely registered the moment when they reached their haven, almost tripping on the rocks that outlined the shore.

Everything was unnaturally silent, Brick looked around as if he expected Butch to spring out of nothingness any moment now.

However, they could only find a Boomer who had peacefully fallen asleep in the jacuzzi.

'Boomer. Wake up!' Brick commanded as he dragged his brother out of the jacuzzi.

'Put your clothes on. We're on the look-out.'

'...are you guys back home already? Where's Butch? Weren't you going after him? ' Boomer asked, still confused.

'Change of plans. We're waiting for him. And making sure he doesn't do anything stupid once he gets here.' Brick replied while keeping an eye on the surroundings.

'Oh...not again.' Boomer replied, complying to his brother's order.

'Let's go inside. We can wait for him there.' Brick suggested, giving his intoxicated brother a helping hand.

'Are you that sure he's coming back here?...' Blossom dared to ask.

'Yes, I guarantee it.'

The atmosphere was tense as they waited in silence, the only sound breaking it being the occasion flickering light of the living room's lightbulb.

Soon, they heard a loud thump outside. They all hurried towards the doorway, but before they knew it they were greeted by a very bloody Butch entangled in a thick chain with a smaller body that struggled to free itself from his grasp. The chain seemed ancient, had strange markings all over its black links, and it twisted tightly around the two figures.

The smaller body was likewise bloodied and broken, and it attempted to disentangle itself from the embrace in what had essentially become a macabre, jittery dance.

'LET ME GO, YOU PIECE OF SHIT. GET YOUR SLIMY HANDS OFF ME.'

Multiple thuds followed as Butch toppled over from the blows he was receiving from the smaller Powerpuff. He grinned as fresh blood cascaded out of his mouth.

'C'mon, feisty, give it a rest. Just lemme touch your tits already.'

'Butch.'

A steely voice pierced the air, sending chills down Blossom's back. She had never, ever heard Brick sound like that.

'Are those...?' he continued, staring the two greens up and down.

'Our old chains? Yes, of course they are. Finally putting them to good use, aren't we, Butterfly?' he mockingly replied, showing Brick his cuffed wrist and ankle that mirrored Buttercup's.


End file.
